The sun within me
by fangirlandiknowit
Summary: They thought the jutsu didn't move them at all, when in fact they ended up in a different dimension. When Konoha is no longer what they're used to, Naruto and Sasuke face their toughest decision yet - go home or stay home. NarutoxSasuke, Road to Ninja crossover, romance/drama/humor.
1. What lies ahead

So umm, my exam starts in three and a half hours... I kinda thought I'd post this now rather than later because I need something to cheer me up. But hey after this exam my summer break starts and I'll feel less bad over starting yet another new story! I blame this one on Éva, so from now on it'll be her responsibility to make sure I write a lot during summer. :)

Anyway, I've wanted to write a real ninja-verse story for a while, and this one just seems too good to pass up on. I'm not going to spoil where they end up but I'm sure it's not impossible to guess. You'll find out in chapter two anyways. As for their teleportation skills, it'll be explained later. This chapter is more of a tease;)

I'm thinking I'll write fairly short chapters and try to update more often instead (as well as update my other stories heh), but probably a bit longer than this one. We'll see. I hope you're all as excited as I am!

A few (not really) warnings: This story will contain both humor and drama, which means that some parts are meant to be funny and some to be right in the feels. So yeah possibly some small amounts of crack ahead but I'll keep it mainly realistic. If you can even call something like teleporting into another dimension realistic... oh well. I'm going to have fun with this and I hope you'll like it! It's mainly gay unless there are minor canon straight couples. Mainly Naruto/Sasuke with no specific top, we'll see what happens. Oh, and the title kinda refers to Sasuke because yeah, he's precious.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its different dimensions, even if it would be cool. Guess I'm a nerd.

* * *

**The sun within me**

**Chapter 1: What lies ahead**

xxx

"Hey Sasuke!"

It took Sasuke a second to realize that the person yelling at him was, in fact, not an intruder but rather Naruto, though by that point the knife was already securely embedded in his kitchen wall. Great, another dent to add to the already present four.

"Really Sasuke, you should be used to this by now! You need to relax a bit."

Turning his head towards the noise he watched the other ninja slump down into one of his kitchen chairs, one arm on the table and the other loosely hanging off the back of the chair. Of course, that stupid grin was spread over the tan face, stretching out the whisker marks.

"Or you could get it into your dense skull that I told you _not_ to do that" he remarked, eyebrow raised and glare in place. "Are you going to pay for the dents in my wall?"

Naruto chuckled nervously, scratching his neck. He didn't exactly look like he regretted his actions however, so Sasuke decided to ignore his presence and continue with the making of his breakfast. He reached for the kitchen knife to continue cutting his eggs, only to remember it was that particular knife he'd sent flying a minute earlier.

"Next time I won't miss on purpose" he added as he pulled it out, sending Naruto another scathing look before returning to the kitchen counter.

"Oh come on, don't be so boring" Naruto complained, leaning his head on the arm already on the table, slouching further into his seat. "You should be happy that I'm practicing!"

Feeling a slight twitch in his lips, Sasuke refrained from making a rude comment. Well, exaggeratedly rude.

"We're not allowed to use teleportation within the village, or did you already forget? Dobe."

"Hey! It's fine to use it, Baa-chan is just being mean for no reason!"

"You teleported into her office without notice, thus causing her to spill sake over several important and irreplaceable documents" he droned, cutting a few slices of bread, trying not to think of the fact that this was the supposed hero of the village he had to remind for the hundredth time.

"Okay yeah, but that was _one_ time, _one time_ Sasuke! Plus it was ages ago, I can use it with no problems now!"

Sighing through his nose, Sasuke decided to spare himself the trouble of asking just how showing up unexpectedly had anything to do with Naruto's ability to use the jutsu. Glancing over his shoulder he could see the pout forming on Naruto's mouth, blue eyes scowling at him. Instead he grabbed the two sandwiches he'd made, throwing one on the tabletop in front of Naruto and sitting down next to him.

"What's this?" Naruto asked, voice dripping with suspicion.

"Nothing that would kill you, sadly."

Naruto kicked his chair, picking it up and all but shoving it into his mouth. Sasuke didn't have to ask to know he'd most likely only had a cup of instant ramen for breakfast. Why else would he show up uninvited with perfect timing for breakfast? For someone so scatter-brained he sure knew how to show up when there was food to be had.

"Can I skip the salad?" Naruto complained, still munching and eyeing the sandwich with a pained look on his face.

"It's all or nothing" he answered, pouring himself some juice and not bothering to offer some to Naruto.

"You're evil."

"Really, I had no idea."

First Naruto scoffed at him, then another grin lit up his face.

"That's nice though." When Sasuke gave him a look he continued, patting his knee gently despite knowing Sasuke hated it. "You using humor, I mean. You're making progress! Even if it's shitty humor…"

Sasuke placed his foot against Naruto's chair and pushed, satisfied when both chair and idiot fell to the floor.

"Dammit teme!"

"Hn. That's what you get for breaking and entering."

"Well I didn't really feel like walking" Naruto said, sounding slightly exasperated, still on the floor and waving his sandwich at Sasuke. "You of all people should understand that."

"Being lazy isn't my forte."

Why he even bothered humoring the moron he wasn't sure, but it must have something to do with the fact that he wasn't a morning person and couldn't care less about what he said and did.

He received a glare for that, before Naruto seemed to resign himself to stay in his current position on his back, legs hanging over the seat of the chair.

"Whatever. It's not like you're the kind of person to remember dates, anyway."

Sasuke actually frowned at that. Naruto seemed less cheerful today, but on the other hand anything less than blindingly smiling and emitting nauseating happiness was depressing when it came to him.

"It's my birthday tomorrow." Naruto rolled his eyes when no recognition appeared in Sasuke's eyes. "The one year anniversary of winning against that tree and shit? Remember? Tomorrow you're free to do whatever you want."

Oh. Sasuke had almost forgotten about it. Somehow time had seemed to pass quickly and not at all since he came back to Konoha. How his sentence had gone from execution to life in prison to one year of community service he didn't know, but he could bet his rinnegan that Naruto had had something to do with the decision-making between the latter two. Which basically meant that tomorrow, he was free to leave Konoha if he so wished.

"So… what are you going to do?"

He hadn't noticed Naruto watching him with apprehension, worry even.

"I mean, I know you said you want to be Hokage, but…" Naruto bit his lip, grimacing a little.

Becoming Hokage was a nice idea at the time, but even Sasuke didn't think he had the charm to stop half the village, or ninja world for that matter, from thinking of him as the missing nin that defected from the village and joined not only Orochimaru, but Akatsuki as well.

"I'm sure I could give you a run for your money if I felt like it" he said, taking another calm bite of his food.

"Right. So what are you going to do, then?"

He took his time chewing, swallowing carefully and wiping some crumbs off his mouth. Honestly, he hadn't thought too much about it. There was the whole issue with Itachi, and he wouldn't like to see Konoha ever sinking that low again. Probably leaving the village wasn't going to send a good signal to everyone expecting eternal peace out of Naruto's divine guidance.

Or it was more like, having Naruto chase after him again would be pointless.

"If I left you'd just pester me to come back" he finally said, trying to brush the question off like it was no big deal.

"Not if you had a good reason for it."

He glanced at Naruto, his tan face serious and possibly not too happy about his own words.

"I don't" he shrugged, eating the last piece of sandwich and standing up, picking up his glass of juice while keeping one eye trained on Naruto to see his reaction.

"You mean you're staying?"

The hope shining in blue eyes almost made Sasuke cringe. He didn't really understand why Naruto insisted on caring so much about him, or whether he was around or not. Sure, there was the whole reincarnation thing connecting them, but he preferred not to think about it. He'd simply come to the conclusion that it was kind of how he felt about Itachi and left it at that, not ignoring it but not encouraging it either.

"If I didn't you'd probably trip on one of those empty ramen cartons and die and who'll become Hokage then?"

With Naruto's eyes watering like that he had to avert his eyes. This wasn't how he'd planned to spend his morning at all.

"Okay" Naruto said, voice a little hoarse as if he tried to rein himself in from getting too emotional, which Sasuke couldn't understand since Naruto being emotional wasn't exactly strange.

He'd cried a lot when the war was over after all.

"Okay" Naruto repeated to himself, taking a deep breath, and Sasuke could feel his chakra calming down again. "Well Kurama's a little pissed 'cause he thinks Konoha isn't big enough for two bastards, but don't worry I've got room for you both."

Sasuke had to turn and give him a deadpan look at that. Naruto had a tendency to not notice the crap he was spewing, and that sure found a place in the top ten.

"I'm off to work" he dismissed him with, placing his glass on the counter and starting for the door.

"Wha- Wait up! I'm coming with you!"

"Obviously" Sasuke muttered, letting the moron pass through before he did a last check that he had everything he needed before stepping out and closing the door behind them.

As they made their way towards the Hokage tower, Sasuke realized why Naruto hadn't felt like walking before. Every hundred meters or so they were stopped by someone, friend or stranger, everyone wishing Naruto an early Happy Birthday and asking him about his plans, and telling them how they were going to mourn the people that died but of course also wanted him to not have a depressing birthday.

"You've got two anniversaries on your birthday, after all, neither too happy" an old woman had said, shaking her head with a hand placed comfortingly on Naruto's arm.

Sasuke pulled him up on the roofs after that, thinking they wouldn't encounter anyone up there, especially since there was a general prohibition about using that route now when they were still doing construction work and you couldn't be entirely sure everything was held up enough to withstand the occasional jump powered by chakra.

"It's not that it bothers me" Naruto started, a frown on his face as he glanced to Sasuke. "It's just that it feels a bit weird, my birthday was always the worst day of the year, well except when I travelled with Ero-sennin, and now it's going to become some national hero holiday?"

"I thought they were all talking about mourning" Sasuke felt the need to point out.

"Yeah, I know, but the schedule is to spend half the day mourning the dead and then there'll be a huge party in the evening."

Sasuke hadn't heard about that before. Must have been one of those times he'd tuned out Tsunade's constant nagging.

"Sakura-chan said she'll go with me. As friends, I mean, so I don't have to be bothered by 'eager young women who want to marry me'."

He said the last part in a mock, quoting tone of voice, and Sasuke gave him an uninterested look.

"Am I supposed to care?"

"Well duh, I'm popular now!"

"Good for you."

Sasuke really didn't care. It was only to be expected that Naruto would be treated as a hero when they returned, much like had been the case when everyone on the battlefield woke up and found out what happened. For his own part he'd be much happier if no one paid attention to him, not because it really bothered him that people were suspicious of him, but because Naruto seemed to take it as a personal insult whenever someone threw a comment their way. Really, he _had_ been reported as a criminal with a fairly decent record, even if he couldn't honestly bring himself to believe that killing Danzo was anything short of an outright favor to Konoha.

"I think you still beat me when it comes to girls though."

Naruto didn't seem particularly sad over this fact, and Sasuke didn't understand why he was still talking.

"For an almost eighteen-year-old you sure talk about immature topics."

"What the hell!" Naruto growled, shifting his weight as he landed from a jump and used the momentum to try and kick Sasuke in the side.

Sasuke avoided it easily, running a little faster instead as he ignored the fuming blond. He could vaguely recall a time when he used to claim his life goal was to kill his brother and then revive his clan. Other people might think he meant it in a physical, have-sex-and-then-babies kind of plan, but he was fairly certain his young self had meant it in a more innocent, reputation kind of way. Bring back their pride, or something. Maybe now that he knew the truth it was better to keep his Uchiha heritage on the down-low.

"Try to behave in front of the Hokage at least" he said when they landed in front of the building, entering after nodding at the guards.

"Fuck you" Naruto muttered, bumping into his shoulder, disturbing Sasuke with the fact that they were almost the same height, even though he shouldn't be so surprised since Naruto hadn't been that far off the past few years or so.

He sometimes missed the times when Naruto was just a little runt, it was so much easier to push him around when he didn't go into bijuu mode simply to prove a point.

"Baa-chan, what's my mission today?!"

Tsunade slammed her fist onto her desk, glaring harshly at the two of them entering her office uninvited.

"Just once, Sasuke, do you mind teaching him how to knock?"

Sasuke looked out the window. Not his problem.

He could hear her grumbling something about the two of them, but chose to ignore that as well.

"Oh come on, what did I ever do to you? Did someone break your bottle of sake?"

Sasuke fought the urge to smack his hand over the idiot's face. How he was going to be able to function at diplomatic meetings remained a mystery to him.

"I swear to god, you two will bring me an early death" Tsunade muttered, rubbing her face tiredly.

Which was a little ironic in Sasuke's opinion, considering how the both of them were the incarnations of the two brothers who actually started the whole mess with conflict in the ninja world, bringing not only Tsunade to the brink of death several times. Though, being a cynic, Sasuke was sure it would have happened eventually anyway.

"Just send your clones to the same places as yesterday" Tsunade continued, crossing her arms around her bosom and sending him a contemplative look. "As for you, I guess you'll get today off."

Naruto's eyes widened before he pumped his fist in the air, letting out a victory shout.

"Awesome, I'll send them off right away."

Too used to it Sasuke barely twitched when the room suddenly filled to the brim with Naruto clones, exiting through the windows and door as more appeared. Sometimes he sort of hated Naruto's amount of chakra. On the other hand, having a couple hundred of Naruto's clones doing most of the work meant that Konoha was almost back to its original capacity, with a few additional improvements. No Uchiha compound, for example.

"But, you'll have to think of a speech to give tomorrow."

Naruto's triumphant look turned into chagrin, and some of the clones patted his back as they passed him.

"A speech? You're kidding me! Have Kakashi do it or something!"

"Naruto," Tsunade began, face stern and screaming lecture-to-come, "If you're going to become Hokage you need to be able to speak in front of crowds, not to mention make them follow you and trust you. Just speak from the heart and you'll be fine."

Naruto groaned, pushing his hands down his pockets, attempting to make the blonde woman change her mind with begging eyes.

"No excuses" she warned, eyes narrowed at him. "Make sure he's prepared" she added towards Sasuke, who raised his eyebrows and waited for further instructions.

Usually she sent him off together with one or a few of Naruto's clones, making him do his share of work. The original Naruto was kept for Hokage lessons, though he wasn't sure if they actually meant him learning anything or if it was just an excuse for Tsunade to skip doing the paperwork herself. At least that's how it was according to her student.

"Alright, you're dismissed" she said, and he followed Naruto out of the window despite the Hokage's protests.

"Aah, so nice to have a day off!" Naruto smiled, stretching his arms above his head once they'd landed on the ground.

"You still have to think of a speech."

Naruto cringed, grimacing again. Then he seemed to cheer up, turning towards Sasuke with enthusiasm.

"I can do that later, let's go train instead!"

Logically, Sasuke knew he should disagree and have the dobe do his work first, but on the other hand they hadn't practiced in a few days and he could feel the crescent mark on his left palm itching at the thought.

"Fine" he agreed, and they made their way out of the village.

xxx

A couple of hours later, in the middle of cursing the fact that she let Naruto go without doing any work, Tsunade got a visit from Inari.

"Umm, excuse me Hokage-sama, but Naruto's clones disappeared and they haven't come back yet like they usually do."

She frowned at him. Whenever one of Naruto's clones disappeared he'd notice and send a new one, unless it wasn't necessary.

"Should he have?"

"Well, it was all twenty of them in one go, and it's not like there was a reason for them to be dispelled. Tazuna said I should check with you."

She nodded, clasping her hands in thought.

"How long ago?"

"Maybe fifteen minutes."

She opened her mouth to answer when another knock was heard from the door, and one of the women in charge of the gardening squad entered.

"Naruto's clones disappeared, I was wondering if-"

"Yours too?" Inari exclaimed, a little excited that something was happening. His usual job helping Tazuna with the construction work wasn't very eventful, and could get a little dull after a year or so.

"And this was fifteen minutes ago?" Tsunade asked the woman, who nodded. "I suppose he's training with Sasuke, maybe something happened. Inari, do you mind checking on them?"

Inari nodded, happy to get a break, and eager to see Naruto in action. He'd gotten to see some of the jutsu Naruto had used during the war, but not all of them since they were too powerful to use close to the village. He ran the whole way, trying to make use of his chakra now that he was starting to learn a few things about ninja stuff. If he could, he'd like to be one as well despite starting ten years late. Anything to be able to work with Naruto, the person he'd looked up to as a hero even before he became famous and recognized.

It took him maybe twenty minutes to reach the area specially designated for Naruto and Sasuke, the only sounds he could hear being a bird or two chirping. He entered a large clearing, crooked and singed trees surrounding it. There were broken branches scattered here and there, most of them full of kunai and shuriken, and some of the holes in the ground looked deep.

"Naruto?" he called, walking over the trampled grass and trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of something orange.

Maybe he was hiding? He kept a close eye on the ground, making sure he didn't step on any traps or fell down a hole, coming to a stop when he found Sasuke's katana reflecting sunlight to the far left of the area from where he stood. That was weird, he didn't think Sasuke would carelessly leave his sword out in the open like that. Walking up to it he pursed his lips in thought, contemplating what to do. Figuring he should wait for a bit he sat down next to the blade, legs crossed and face towards the bright sun.

Breaks weren't bad, anyway, and it's not like he was actually worried about Naruto. If anyone could get out of trouble it was him.

Maybe ten minutes later a shadow fell over his closed eyes, and looking up he found Kakashi staring down at him with a serious face.

"You didn't see them?" the silver-haired ninja asked, crouching down to his level and scrutinizing the katana.

"Nope. It's just Sasuke-san's sword."

Kakashi nodded, thinking for a few seconds before standing up and pulling the blade out of the ground, weighing it in his hand.

"Let's go back, they probably teleported somewhere and will come back later."

Inari nodded, thinking he'd check up on Naruto later that day and ask where they went.

The problem was just that, later that day, Naruto still hadn't returned…

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Alright what do you think?! I think it's going to be fun. Suggestions are also welcome:) I probably forgot to say something important but if there are question marks it should be explained soon enough! I'd love to hear your comments:3


	2. is neither dream nor reality

It took me longer to actually get to writing this than I thought, but summer break is finally here! For real, I mean.

Thanks for the comments on the first chapter! This one is pretty short, and the next should be longer again. I hope you enjoy it:)

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**Chapter 2: …is neither dream nor reality**

xxx

"What the hell was that!" Naruto yelled, trying to ignore the fact that he was crouched above Sasuke's body on the ground. "Don't tell me what to do, look what happened!"

"Nothing happened, now get off me" Sasuke snarled, pushing at Naruto's chest.

Bristling with anger and possibly something else he refused to acknowledge, Naruto got up and crossed his arms.

"We didn't even teleport! That's how much you messed it up!"

He could see the tick in Sasuke's eye, but refused to back down when dark eyes narrowed to slits as Sasuke rose to his feet.

"Don't even _think_ about-"

Sasuke's words came to an abrupt halt as he took in their surroundings.

"What?" Naruto demanded, looking around them and seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

"I think we did teleport."

"Huh? But we're still in the same place…" Naruto trailed off, frowning as he turned his head back and forth as he scanned the area. "What happened to this place?"

"You mean what _didn't _happen" Sasuke corrected him, wary as he took note of the fresh, green grass covering the entire clearing, all trees looking healthy with no signs of the damage their training had caused.

"This is kinda scary" Naruto said with a grimace, turning slowly in a circle, fingers clenching around the fabric of his jacket. "But we're still in the same place, right?"

"Looks like it."

Naruto unconsciously inched closer to Sasuke, switching to sage mode so he could check the place for chakra.

"I can still feel Konoha" he said, noticing several familiar chakra signals. "Uuh, wait, I think I can feel Orochimaru."

Sasuke gave him a look that clearly told him he was stupid.

"You know he's allowed to enter the village now" he said, wincing when Naruto's anger flared again and he shouted "I know that!" louder than necessary.

Then Naruto's eyes widened, and stared at Sasuke for so long that he almost got a little worried.

"Do you think we travelled in time?" he whispered, face a shade paler.

"That's impossible."

Naruto swallowed, slipping out of sage mode and shaking his head as if to get rid of whatever he'd felt.

"Alright, but something here is pretty fucked up."

Sasuke frowned at him, then turned to search for his sword. It wasn't there.

"Well there's no point standing here speculating" he said, walking towards the village, Naruto unhappily following behind.

They reached the village gates without any incidents, no one taking notice of them as they entered through them.

"It looks a little different" Naruto muttered, and Sasuke was inclined to agree.

Making their way through the crowd on the main street they searched for a familiar face that maybe could explain what was going on. At one point Sasuke blinked, turning his head to catch sight of a person they'd just passed.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, turning as well, but Sasuke shook his head.

He'd thought he'd seen… but no, that was impossible. Unless they really _had_ travelled through time, which sounded more than a little crazy to him. Sure, they were strong, but _time_? Nonsense.

"Oh look, there's Ino."

Naruto pulled Sasuke with him towards a flower shop, where Ino was busy arranging some flowers by the entrance. When they reached her she looked up, surprised for a moment before smiling shyly at them.

"Sasuke-kun, Menma-kun, I thought you were still on a mission?"

Sasuke didn't really know how to react, not that he got any time since Naruto quickly grabbed his arm and squeezed it in warning.

"Hey Ino, yeah we're uh, we just got back I mean."

Naruto looked a little wild around the eyes as Sasuke glanced at him, wondering why he was playing along and what he could possibly know that Sasuke didn't.

"That's nice." She smiled again, brushing her long blonde hair out of her face. "Oh, your mother came by just now, she should be home I think."

Naruto was nodding, still gripping Sasuke's arm tightly. He thanked Ino and started walking, pulling Sasuke with him impatiently.

"What's going-"

"This shouldn't be possible" Naruto murmured, glancing around them before bringing Sasuke with him into a small alley. "Really, really shouldn't be possible."

"Speak up dobe, I won't get it if you keep mumbling like that. Where the hell are we?"

Naruto's eyes caught his, mouth open as if to finally explain but no words came out. Closing it again he shook his head slowly, worrying his lip between his teeth. Sasuke didn't enjoy being kept hanging.

"Tell me. _Now_."

"Okay but you're not going to like it. I've been here before."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that.

"I think we've both been in Konoha before."

Naruto let out a frustrated noise, one hand gripping his hair, the other still wrapped around Sasuke's wrist.

"This isn't Konoha. I mean, not _our_ Konoha. Madara sent me here. I mean Obito. Well okay Madara was controlling him but-"

Placing one hand over Naruto's mouth, Sasuke narrowed his eyes dangerously as he leaned in.

"You do realize that Madara is dead, right? And I doubt Obito would send us here as a joke, so if you don't mind, could you tell me _where_ exactly we are then?"

Blue eyes stared at him helplessly.

"I'm not sure" he said, the words muffled under Sasuke's palm. "I thought it was a genjutsu, like the moon thing."

"The infinite tsukuyomi, you mean."

"Whatever. This place is like Konoha but people are different, and the things that happened are different."

"Like what."

"You're really calm you know, Sakura and I kinda freaked out when we got here."

Sasuke removed his hand, placing it beside the idiot's head instead. Patience is a virtue, they say.

At least Naruto started talking, explaining how he and Sakura had gotten there, how they'd met everyone's fake copies that were them but not really, how Naruto's parents were alive, how he'd fought his alter ego who also had the kyuubi…

"Itachi what?" he interrupted him with at one point, voice toneless and mouth dry as Naruto gave him a look that was far too understanding.

"Look, Sasuke, whatever people are here they're not the ones in our world, okay? We just need to figure out a way to get back. Last time we had to beat Menma, but this time we got here by ourselves so… At least I think we did?"

"If you hadn't tried to interfere with my rinnegan we wouldn't be here, so yes I'm fairly certain you got us here."

"Teme! You're the one who wouldn't let me try out my idea!"

They glared at each other, neither too happy being stuck in some strange world and not knowing how to get back.

"Hey! Maybe it works if we just do the same thing again?"

Sasuke doubted that. When Naruto screwed up, it was rarely as simple as going back and doing the same thing again. Maybe it would even get worse.

"Come on, I know you can't think of anything better right now!"

But oh, how he wished he could. He trudged after the moron, not surprised this time when he saw someone walking past them wearing the Uchiha symbol on their back. He scrutinized the places they passed, shops and houses looking almost the same as he'd gotten used to the past year.

"Come on, Sasuke, hurry up!"

Naruto seemed uncharacteristically urgent about leaving. Something must have happened to make him not want to go back to this place, and Sasuke found himself wondering what. If even Itachi was here… how bad could it really be?

"Kyaaa! It's Sasuke-kun! He's back!"

He froze, as well as Naruto, both of them turning towards the female voices with horror.

"We need to run" Naruto whispered, panicked eyes trying to find an escape route in the mass of people around them.

There were few things that made Sasuke scared or nervous. There were, however, a lot of things that made him uncomfortable. Large groups of girls were one of those things, and as they mysteriously got surrounded before they could even take a few steps, he felt highly uncomfortable.

"Sasuke-kun, it's been so long! Did your mission go well?"

"Don't talk to him!"

"I can talk to him if I want to, we went on a date remember?!"

"Oh please, Sasuke promised _me_ a date once he got back. Right Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke stared at one of the girls, a short one with curly dark hair, and wondered why he'd ever agree to a date with her.

"Menma!"

The angry shout caused Naruto to wince visibly, and Sasuke followed his line of vision to see Hinata stomping towards them, rolling up her sleeves, body barely covered by tiny shorts and a fishnet top. Well, that was definitely different from the usual Hinata.

"Just what do you think you're doing with all these girls!" Lilac eyes changed into white byakugan, her hand coming up to grab the front of Naruto's jacket. "I'd kill you if you weren't you!"

Alright, maybe he could understand why Naruto wanted to leave this Konoha as soon as possible.

"Ah Hinata, let go, I was just out walking with Sasuke…"

"Are you handing in the mission report?" The question was demanded rather than asked, and Naruto nodded weakly. "I'll escort you there. And you," she glared at Sasuke, "better behave."

Not really sure what was going on, but at least saved from his supposed alter ego's crazy girlfriends, Sasuke followed quietly, ignoring Naruto's silent screams for help as Hinata lectured him. Maybe she and Sakura had switched places personality wise. It made him wonder if everyone had switched personalities, which might explain things. None of his training had prepared him for something like this, and Sasuke didn't enjoy dealing with it. Cursing the dobe inside his mind he waited for Hinata to finish outside the Hokage tower, sending her an equally dirty look as the one she sent him before leaving. Bitch. What did he ever do to her.

"I guess sneaking out isn't an option anymore…"

Sasuke shrugged, pushing past Naruto to enter the building. They might as well get this over with.

Inside Tsunade's office, he wasn't expecting her to watch them calmly from behind black glasses, her desk void of the usual piles of paperwork. Or maybe he should have. They were in reverse-Konoha after all.

"Menma, Sasuke, you're not supposed to be back for another week" she said, frowning when Naruto fidgeted and Sasuke stood impassive. "Did something happen?"

"Well, yeah, remember the whole thing with the Red Moon Scroll? I'm not Menma and I kinda ended up here again, with Sasuke, yeah…" He rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish grin on his face.

"We just need a way to get back" Sasuke added.

Tsunade looked concerned as she moved her glasses higher up her nose.

"Kushina did tell me about the 'other' Menma, but I didn't think you would return. And this time you brought Sasuke instead of Sakura?"

"It was an accident okay?" Naruto crossed his arms defiantly, sending Sasuke a look as if to dare him to tell him it was all his fault again.

"We were experimenting with teleportation. Somehow, I think Naruto's hiraishin and my rinnegan mixed and we ended up here."

"Yeah! What he said!"

Tsunade blinked a couple of times, clasping her hands in front of her.

"You possess the rinnegan?" she asked Sasuke, who nodded once in response. "And a Menma who can use the hiraishin to the extent of entering our world… But I don't recall you knowing how to use it last time."

"I learnt it a few months ago" Naruto told her, rocking back and forth on his heels a few times. "So, do you think you can help us?"

Tsunade hummed in thought, looking between them curiously.

"Personally, I don't know anything about teleportation. You'd have to ask Minato, as well as Obito."

"Obito is alive?!"

"Idiot, he's alive in our world too."

Naruto kicked him for that. It even hurt a bit.

"And where are they?" Naruto asked, seemingly eager to get this over with.

"On their respective missions. Well, Obito isn't easy to get a hold of, but Itachi or Shisui might know. Minato should be back in a week."

So it was true, Itachi really was alive and so was Shisui. What kind of world was this, where the massacre of his clan had never happened?

He heard Naruto slump next to him, muttering to himself. He tried to remain passive, like all of this was just a strange dream and they'd soon go back to their own world where everything was normal and girls preferred to admire him from afar. Very much afar.

But the fact still remained.

He was going to meet Itachi again.

* * *

I rewatched the Road to ninja movie just before writing this. I hope you've watched it, or you might be a little confused. I'll try to keep the characters as they are showed in the movie, but for the ones that aren't shown I'll just come up with something. Anyway, it's going to be hilarious when Sasuke meets his alter ego eventually. Let's hope we don't need to break down and cry when he meets Itachi.

Also, Obito is going to get through this mess that is the latest chapters because I need that KakaObi, dammit, and nothing will ruin my dreams.

So yeah, what did you think? :3


	3. A mother's smile

My cousin arrived with some internet, so I figured I could update this at least. It's short, but I'll try to update fast again to make up for it. Some feels this time, but the fun should arrive later together with Menma and the other Sasuke;)

* * *

**Chapter 3: A mother's smile**

xxx

While Tsunade asked a few questions about how, more exactly, they ended up in this world, Sasuke stared out the window lost in thought. The time in-between Itachi's death and meeting him again thanks to Kabuto, he'd thought a lot about what he wanted to ask, and say. Not that he'd had the time to ask it all, but at least he'd thought about it. Now his mind drew a blank, wondering just what he was going to do when meeting the Itachi of this world. Would he be different? Would he have a bad relationship with his alter ego? How was he even supposed to explain the things that had happened to him…

When the door slammed open, he was pulled out of his thoughts, turning to see what appeared to be a woman surrounded by flaming red hair. Her eyes scanned the room before zoning in on Naruto, who was visibly shrinking back from the anger she emitted.

"Menma! The _nerve_ you have! Sneaking away on a mission when it's your birthday! What do you have to say to your defense?!"

Naruto opened his mouth but no words came out, and instead he grimaced.

"Kushina, this isn't-" Tsunade was ignored as the woman, Kushina, stomped over to Naruto and grabbed the front of his jacket, shaking him.

"And just what do you think you're wearing?! Orange? Did you start your rebellious phase? Do you even understand how much of a pain it's been to have to explain to everyone that you wouldn't be home on your birthday?!"

A light went up for Sasuke. This was Naruto's _mother_. Or, at least, the mother of his alter ego. Seeing her explained where he'd gotten both his temper and amount of chakra.

"Agh, no, you're misunderstanding, I'm not-"

Kushina's glare effectively made Naruto shut up, and he paled before surprise caught him as he was pulled into a tight hug.

"You stupid, stupid boy. Going away on a dangerous mission, without even telling me! And with that good for nothing Sasuke! You're lucky not to be hurt!" She held him at arm's length again, scrutinizing him. "You're not hurt, are you?"

No. Sasuke did _not_ like what he'd found out about this world's Sasuke so far. A bunch of girlfriends, being called good for nothing by Naruto's mother? Unacceptable.

"This isn't Menma, and I'm not that Sasuke either" he said, and Kushina sent him a sharp look.

Her hair slowly calmed to fall down her back instead as she took in his clothes, then searched Naruto's face again.

"I should have recognized the clothes" she said, frowning. "What are you doing here again? We haven't had any reports of the masked man returning."

Her voice was gentle now, and she let go of Naruto. Then her frown deepened and she stretched out a hand to smooth down his hair.

"Hasn't anyone told you to get a haircut lately?"

Naruto stiffened, face clouding over for a second before he seemed to get a grip on himself.

"Ah, we just ended up here, I guess" he answered her, rubbing his neck again.

She stared at him for a while, then moved closer and whispered to him behind her hand.

"Who knew Sasuke could look so reliable, huh?"

Sasuke glared at them, especially at Naruto who seemed to have trouble containing his laughter. While Naruto still wore his orange jumpsuit, Sasuke had taken to wearing the standard ninja outfit, now with a chuunin vest since they passed the exam together just a month or so ago. Naruto had worn his for maybe two days before deciding it didn't really work with his jumpsuit, and instead hung it on a wall in his apartment. Sasuke suspected it was because enough people had expressed their surprise that Naruto had been a genin the whole time.

"Kushina, now that you know how things are, do you mind letting Naruto stay with you for the time being? We'll try to find a way for them to go back to their own world when Minato arrives."

Kushina gave her a surprised look, then smiled at them both.

"Of course! You're always welcome. Naruto, was it? And, Sasuke? Or do you have another name just like Naruto?"

"It's Sasuke" Naruto answered in his stead, returning her smile a little hesitantly.

"Alright!" She clapped her hands together, her smile widening. "You can leave them to me, Tsunade-sama!"

For some reason, Sasuke didn't feel entirely reassured.

xxx

While they walked to Kushina's house, Sasuke listened with half an ear as the other two reminisced over the last time Naruto was here. It seemed as if Menma hadn't remembered any of the things he'd done while under Obito's control. To Sasuke, it all seemed strange that he and Naruto would have been able to enter a world that Obito seemingly had created, a world that shouldn't still exist. Or maybe, once it had been made, it simply stayed that way? It was something he could think about later. Right now, he was more interested in finding out the differences between his own world and this. Kushina had decided that they would have lunch with her, and then she'd escort Sasuke over to the Uchiha household where she was sure Mikoto would let him stay.

Hearing someone talk about his mother so casually felt surreal. Everything he'd lost existed in this world. What had Naruto said? That Obito had created it after Naruto's and Sakura's wishes, just like the infinite tsukuyomi would show you a dream world with everything you'd ever wanted.

He'd thought he'd curbed the worst of his longing, the part that brought about the most hatred. He thought he'd learnt to control it, in order to live in the peaceful world that Itachi had wished for. But knowing it was all here, in this world…

What did he really have to go back to?

"Hey teme, I never had time to tell you, but the Sasuke here is a total womanizer."

Sasuke blinked, brought back to the present.

"Language, Naruto" Kushina berated him, at the same time urging him to take another helping of the left-over curry she'd heated up for them.

"Right, uh, sorry" he said, sheepish, probably not sure how to react.

Sasuke could understand. They'd both lived most of their lives with no one telling them to act decently.

"I figured" he said, trying to ignore how Kushina kept giving him awed looks whenever he opened his mouth.

"You're so quiet and well behaved" she gushed, "Mikoto won't believe her eyes! What a shame I don't have a daughter you could marry."

"What the hell!" Naruto protested, pouting when Kushina sent him a look to remind him, again, of his usage of curse words.

"Now really" Kushina complained, waving her chopsticks at Naruto, "Our Sasuke is a very sweet young man, but just a while ago I caught him two-timing his three girlfriends with a fourth! He's got no shame inside that pretty little body of his."

Sasuke was appalled, and it must have showed on his face because Kushina laughed nervously, the same way Naruto always did.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke, it's just that he gets on my nerves lately. He's got half the girls in the village wrapped around his little finger, and the worst part is that the last months, he's been following my Menma around!" She leaned towards him, eyes searching Sasuke's. "What do you think? They used to argue all the time, but now they keep going on missions together."

"Umm, maybe they became friends?" Naruto suggested, and Kushina fell back in her chair with a deep sigh.

"I'm just worried he'll turn my innocent child into a skirt-chaser just like him." She looked between them, her eyes pinning them down in their seats. "You'll tell me if you notice anything, right?"

Naruto nodded, scared into cooperation, while Sasuke tried to stay neutral. He'd rather not get caught up in some kind of pointless drama. It was bad enough he'd have to suffer for his counterpart's behavior.

xxx

Closing in on the other Sasuke's house, Naruto felt more than a little hesitant. He could clearly remember how it had felt the last time he was here, finally able to live the life he'd always wanted with his parents, only to realize he didn't belong with them. He didn't want Sasuke to have to go through something similar. Especially since his best friend had suffered through a much more traumatizing loss, and had almost ruined his life just to get revenge on his brother for it. The brother who had actually done everything for Sasuke's sake. The brother that existed here.

Naruto was worried. It was a selfish worry, but it was the reason he hadn't wanted to stay longer than necessary. Now, it seemed as if they'd be there for a while, and he was torn between feeling happy for Sasuke's sake that he'd get to meet his family again, and worried that Sasuke would like them more than he liked their own world.

He didn't want to go home alone, even if he felt bad for hoping that this world's Mikoto and Fugaku would be awful people.

Every day he woke up trying to suppress the thought that Sasuke might have decided to leave, and every day so far he had smiled in relief upon seeing him. He didn't want to lose that feeling. Part of him thought that he should just enjoy his time here, have some fun, find out what two Sasukes together was like.

The other part kept a close eye on Sasuke as they stopped in front of the door, Kushina grinning as she sneaked inside after telling them to wait there.

"Are you okay?" he asked Sasuke, knowing that sort of question was off limits normally.

Sasuke never answered questions about his emotional state.

"If you've got time to worry, try thinking of a way back instead."

Naruto bit his lip, nails digging into his palms. Sasuke seemed tense, eyes alert and back straight. Even so, he could tell that Sasuke was excited. Few things made Sasuke look as alive as he did right now. Fighting was one of them. Learning how to teleport was another. And apparently, meeting his dead parents' doppelgangers was another.

He had a vague memory of seeing Mikoto in a picture, but when she opened the door with a warm smile on her face, he was painfully reminded of Sasuke's expression when he was his deepest in darkness.

Mikoto was beautiful, with dark, kind eyes and silky black hair, and her face was definitely where Sasuke got his good looks from.

"Hello, sweeties" she said, opening the door wide, and he could hear Sasuke suck in a breath to his side.

This wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

Yup, Naruto is worried and for a good reason. I've always wondered how canon Sasuke would feel in the Road to Ninja world... Well, we'll see...


	4. Birthday part I

Yikes this took longer to get out than I thought... Where did time go?! Well I wrote some other stuff in-between I guess... And visited my lovely ex-girlfriend and the equally lovely Jasu. I had a great time, I really miss living in Finland... So much Moomin...

I'm at the airport btw, so yay for airport internet! As for this chapter, we meet several "new" characters, and while I based them mainly on how they appear in the Road to Ninja movie, I may also have used some artistic freedom... *cough*. Please remember that this fanfic is 50% shits and giggles and 50% serious feels. They can be hard to separate, at times.

I don't know when the next chapter will be out, depends, I'm going on another ten day-vacation on Thursday, visiting friends in Athens and Amsterdam. But I'm bringing my computer so we'll see how antisocial they'll let me be...

* * *

** Chapter 4: Birthday part I**

xxx

Sasuke woke up to the smell of pancakes invading his nostrils, and with a frown he turned to the side, curling up underneath the fluffy covers. It must be one of those strange dreams again, like when he dreamt that he and Naruto were boxes of instant ramen about to be eaten, and had refused to visit Ichiraku's for an entire month. Clearly Naruto had a bad influence on his mental state.

There was a soft knock on the door, and Sasuke's eyes shot open in time to see Mikoto sticking her head inside the room.

"Breakfast is ready" she said, her sweet voice creating knots in his stomach.

That's right. He wasn't in his apartment, he wasn't dreaming, but he was however surprisingly hungry.

"But don't worry, you can sleep as long as you like. I'm going on an errand in a few minutes but I'll be back soon again."

He nodded, not sure he could trust his voice yet, and with a smile she stepped out and closed the door softly behind herself. Yesterday had passed by in a blur, chatting over tea with both mothers and Naruto, helping Mikoto make dinner, and then trying not to reveal exactly how things were like in his own world.

His head had been so filled with the thought that there was no way he could ever tell this version of his parents that they had staged a coup d'état and then died by Itachi's hands that not much else had registered yet. And how could he? Even Fugaku was nice and caring and asked him if he'd mind helping out in the police force while he was there visiting. With Itachi working for Akatsuki – now that had shocked Sasuke, finding out that the mercenary group was not the evil organization he was used to – and his alter ego off on a mission, they were apparently a little short on staff.

Of course, he'd agreed. It was his childhood dream, after all, growing up into a ninja his father relied on at work. He wouldn't let him down, even if, technically, this wasn't his actual father.

It honestly surprised him that he was able to feel relatively calm about it all. Perhaps it was the hug Mikoto had given him, her smell familiar even though it had been so long that he couldn't consciously recall it, perhaps it was the fact that they treated him like a person without a tragic past; either way it felt as if his bad memories had dissipated into thin air and the only thing remaining was a seven-year-old boy, eager to get out of bed and stuff himself full of pancakes.

A boy with no scars and no experience of pain.

And he wanted to be that boy, wanted to play the role of his alter ego whose only concern seemed to be which girl to date next. If only it didn't feel like he was betraying Itachi's sacrifice…

Inhaling deeply he shuffled out of bed, glancing at his clothes but opting to stay dressed in loose pajama pants and grey t-shirt with the Uchiha fan adorning his back that he borrowed from the other Sasuke's closet. He ventured down into the kitchen, using the bathroom on his way down, throwing one glance in the mirror before deciding that he wasn't going to think about who he was today.

Today, he was wearing casual clothes. Today, he was greeted by a brightly smiling Mikoto who kissed his temple and urged him to start eating. Today, he was going to ignore the painful lump in his throat that forced all difficult emotions to stay hidden inside his chest.

Today, he was going to _live_.

xxx

Naruto weighed back on his chair, an apathetic look on his face and half-eaten sandwich in one hand as he leaned back as far as he could before it threatened to fall and bring him down with it. He was staring up at the ceiling, thinking of Sasuke, when a strong hand gripped the top of his head and pushed downwards so that the chair landed on all fours again.

"Don't do that, even if it's your birthday" Kushina berated him, swishing past him, apron secured around her waist.

"Sorry, bad habit" he answered, rubbing his head and wondering if it was going to bruise.

"Really, what kind of sloppy person am I in your world if you have these kinds of habits?" she continued, waving a pack of sugar at him over her shoulder before turning around to focus on her baking again.

When Naruto didn't answer she turned around, frowning at the look on his face.

"Naruto?"

He sighed, forcing his body to relax, lips pursed as he stared at the potted plant in one window.

"You're dead" he said quietly, still not looking at her, because he didn't want to lie, and he didn't want to pretend that everything was just peachy between himself and Sasuke or that the only worry waiting for them at home would be angry parents and missed workdays.

"But it's fine, it's fine, you were a real hero, and dad too. He was the fourth Hokage, actually." He smiled at her, because while it was true that she was dead, she didn't need to feel guilty over something that wasn't hers to feel guilty for.

She was obviously concerned, but nodded slowly at him.

"I see" she said, keeping whatever assumptions she made to herself. "But don't think I'll go easy on you while you're here!"

There it was again, that feeling of longing, mixed with happiness. He didn't know how to deal with it any better than the previous time he'd been here. But it wasn't her fault, and he'd treat her better this time around.

"Sorry I was acting out last time" he mumbled, stretching his hands out in front of him, his lost appetite not quite returned yet.

"It's okay." Her voice was gentle and understanding, face serious when Naruto glanced up at her. "You know, just call me Kushina if it's weird to call me mom."

She gave him a reassuring smile, and he gave her a weak one in return. Then she turned her back on him again, humming out of tune as she started mixing ingredients. It was only for a short while, however, because suddenly she faced him with an expression of intense curiosity.

"And your Sasuke… He was so much like Itachi! All quiet and cool and reliable… Please tell me he doesn't fool around with girls?"

Naruto almost snorted out loud, because the thought of Sasuke doing that was laughable in so many ways.

"He doesn't care about that stuff."

"And you two are best friends?" When Naruto nodded she sighed, slumping back against the counter. "If only our Sasuke could be like that. He is _such _a bad influence on my poor little Menma. I had high hopes that he would date Sakura, but it seems she turned him down. Which is why _your_ mission will be to get him back on track again! You can see it as payment for food."

Naruto's mouth fell open, then he closed it again with a grimace.

"Now don't give me that attitude! Finish your breakfast and come help me instead."

Groaning inwardly, Naruto wondered what he'd gotten himself into. He didn't know much about Menma, but if they were anything alike, he doubted he would listen to advice. Especially when it came to a certain bastard. Turning the sandwich over in his hands he pouted silently.

He wished he could go see Sasuke.

xxx

"Sweetie?"

Sasuke paused, looking up at Mikoto while wiping a few beads of sweat from his forehead. It was unusually warm, but he didn't mind. He'd offered to help out in the large garden behind the house, at the moment busy digging a hole where Mikoto wanted to plant a new apple tree.

"Some of your friends are here to see you."

Ignoring the strange feeling those words inspired he nodded and stood up, taking off his gloves and running a hand through his damp hair. He figured it would be Naruto, and as he walked towards the hallway he wondered what he could want. Well, it was his birthday, sure, but it was still pretty early.

"Yo, Sasuke, what's up?"

He stared at Shikamaru's slouched form, one pinky scratching inside an ear. Obviously the opposite of him would be an idiot.

"We're throwing a surprise party for Menma, and you better help out!"

It seemed like Hinata still held some sort of grudge towards him, which he now supposed might be because of what he'd been told yesterday, that his alter ego was apparently taking up a lot of Menma's time. Which brought about the question of whether or not he should tell them that it wasn't Menma, but Naruto whom they were thinking of.

"I'm not particularly interested" he answered, because while he didn't mind interacting with his family, he wasn't here to make friends and play the role of some stupid guy who thought with his dick.

Three pairs of eyes stared at him in shock, Ino blushing behind her hand.

"But Sasuke-kun, Menma planned everything for your birthday, I think he would be happy if you helped out…"

On the inside, Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I'm not the Sasuke you're thinking of, and the guy you saw yesterday isn't Menma."

Hinata took a step closer, glaring at him.

"Then who the hell would you be if you're not Sasuke?!"

"I'm another Sasuke" he sighed, tired of the conversation already. "Go ask Tsunade if you don't believe me."

"Whoa, dude!" Shikamaru waved his hands in front of himself, eyes wide. "That's crazy!"

"Another Sasuke... from where?" Hinata's eyes narrowed into slits, and she stepped even closer to scrutinize his face. "But you sure seem different. And you don't smell like cheap perfume."

Sasuke was going to have a talk with his other self as soon as he arrived.

"Another Konoha, obviously."

"Oh man! I can't believe it! This is so cool!"

"Shut up!" Hinata smacked the over-excited Shikamaru on the arm, eyes still trained on Sasuke.

"Alright" she said, ignoring the fact that Ino had stepped behind her and now shyly peeked over her shoulder. "Is your name still Sasuke?"

"Yes."

"And the other Menma is still Menma?"

"Naruto" he corrected, and she nodded before straightening up, arms crossed.

"Then we'll just throw the party for Naruto. Which means _you_ are not allowed to bail on us."

He was still going to refuse when Mikoto appeared behind him, asking what they wanted. And just like that, Sasuke's afternoon looked very unpromising.

xxx

Naruto strolled through Konoha, dragging his feet and kicking the occasional pebble. He'd been kicked out of the house after a mysterious conversation Kushina had had by the door, after which she'd told him that space was needed in order to prepare his birthday dinner. Of course the first place he'd gone to was Sasuke's house, where he'd been told that he was out with some friends.

There were so many things wrong with that sentence, and Naruto felt very confused. Sasuke. Out. With _friends._ Had something happened during the night and he'd woken up with the other Sasuke's personality and memories? He sure hoped not. Things were bad enough without Sasuke forgetting everything that had happened.

He shoved his hands deeper down his pockets, happy he'd left his jacket back in the house but sweating all the same. For once the weather was exceptionally nice on his birthday, it was just his luck to spend it in a fake world. Or maybe not so fake, but he wasn't sure which thought was more unnerving, that this place wasn't real or that there actually did exist a world in which he lived happily with his parents.

"Naruto!"

He raised his head at hearing Sakura's usual calling of his name, spinning around on his heels to see her jogging up to him.

"It's so much easier to find you when you're wearing orange" she chuckled, her clothes the same he was used to with the exception of a cherry blossom pendant hanging from her neck. "I'm here to keep you company."

Now Naruto's confusion increased, but on the other hand it was possible that the old hag had told her what was going on.

"Like a date, huh?" He forced out a chuckle, rubbing his nose as he stared at her.

"Ew, gross" she said, making a disgusted face. "Does the other Sakura like boys? I bet she likes Sasuke, he was giving me all these worried glances."

Naruto blinked a few times in surprise, not sure what to comment on first.

"You met Sasuke? Where is he?"

"I'm not allowed to tell." Snickering she tilted her head a little sideways, hands clasped behind her back.

This Sakura was acting kind of cute.

"Anyway, I'm starving and you look terrible. I mean really, orange?" She tsk'ed at him, eyeing his pants and black shirt with a green stylized Konoha leaf in the middle. "Menma has way more sex appeal."

He couldn't stop the heavy blush covering his face, spluttering a few words of nonsense before finding his voice again.

"What?!" he yelled, balling his fists inside his pockets. "There's nothing wrong with orange! And you said you don't even like boys!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, grabbing his arm and starting to drag him forwards along the road.

"I'm not blind, stupid. Let's go eat first and we'll see what we can do about it later."

xxx

Sasuke could almost _feel_ a vein popping in his temple. One year in the constant company of a certain ramen-loving dobe had done wonders for his patience around other humans, but right now his biggest wish was to grab the closest balloon, poke the air out and then use the remains to choke someone. It wouldn't be hard, the only problem was the whole murder-is-wrong thing that he sadly agreed with. To his left, Hinata was muttering dark curses while assisting Ino, arranging small bouquets of flowers to be set up around the house. Ino kept giggling at Kiba, who cut different silhouettes of cats from colored paper, using silly voices to play out scenes between them.

Where was he, a fucking nursery?

It didn't help that Shikamaru was snoring loudly on the couch, utterly useless. Apparently these four were the only ones with spare time on their hands, though more would arrive in time for the party. Oh, he couldn't wait. Kushina had left the house in order to buy more food, now that there was going to be an actual party, and he almost caught himself wishing she would hurry back and distract him from these maniacs.

And then there was Sakura, the cause for Hinata's bad mood. In Sasuke's opinion, she had seemed surprisingly normal, the way she looked at him neither filled with adoration nor with the sad and tentative feelings of friendship that he'd grown accustomed to lately.

"So Naruto is dating me in your world, right?"

Sasuke glanced to his left, still finding it difficult to get used to Hinata using threats rather than questions when talking.

"He's not dating" he sighed, listless eyes returning focus to the pile of non-inflated balloons in front of him.

Yesterday morning had started out so well, but now he was spending his first day as a free man by preparing a toddler party for Naruto. Though he'd probably love it.

"Why not?!"

Flicking his hair out of his eyes in an irritated gesture, Sasuke thinned his lips into a line and ignored her.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" She'd grabbed his shoulder, and Sasuke's sharingan flashed for a second, which didn't deter her in the least.

"But I'm not talking to you" he gritted out, finally having had enough.

He stood up, chair scraping against the floor, everyone's eyes glued to his face.

"Ah, don't be mad, Sasuke! Here, have a kitty."

Ignoring Kiba as well he left them on their own, leaving the building as fast as possible. He jumped up on the roof, surveying his surroundings before starting to move. He figured he'd seek out Naruto, preferring his mindless chatter over overgrown children. He just hoped he wouldn't run into any of his fangirls along the way.

xxx

At first he'd been happy for the company, and it was nice that Sakura was trying to make him feel welcomed, but a list of every cute girl in the entire village and their location wasn't exactly information he needed. He listened silently, chin leaning in his palm and eyes glassy. Normally, Sakura would have caught on and hit him for not paying attention to her, but this version seemed happy to just have him listening. Maybe Menma did the same thing and she was used to it.

When she stopped talking it took him a while to notice, lost in thoughts of how to get home. She gave him a friendly smile and fluttered her eyelashes cutely at him, mimicking his posture but leaning on both palms instead.

"You and Menma are kind of similar" she mused. "I mean, your Sasuke is very different from ours, and your body language is more crude than Menma's but at least you both don't care about girls."

"I care about girls," Naruto objected, "I just have a lot of things on my mind right now."

"Oh?" She tilted her head, her smile turning a little mischievous for a second, as if she knew something he didn't. "But that's true, you need to find a way to go home" she added, straightening up again.

"Yeah, exactly!"

"Which is why, while you're here, we should make the best of it!"

She beamed at him, and Naruto couldn't help feeling uncomfortable. There was just something about that last sentence that sounded a bit off. When he found himself outside a hairdresser ten minutes later, it seemed as if the feeling in his gut had been correct.

"My hair is fine the way it is!" he told her, digging his heels into the ground.

"Oh come on, you look ridiculous. It's sticking out everywhere."

Naruto was honestly a little hurt. He thought he looked plenty cool. After all, all cool people had longer hair, like his dad and Sasuke. So sue him if he'd tried to grow it a little bit, it was his hair and he could do what he wanted with it. A sudden "Kyaaa!" interrupted his thoughts, and turning he found none other than Sasuke stalking towards them, pretending he couldn't see the two girls waving at him to get his attention.

The relief Naruto felt upon seeing him was almost pathetic, but he'd gotten used to the feeling. A small voice in his head happily whispered to him that Sasuke didn't look pleased at all.

"Hi again, Sasuke! I'm trying to convince Naruto he needs a haircut, what do you think?"

Sasuke paused as he reached them, glancing at Sakura, then fixating his gaze on Naruto's head. There was an uncomfortable prickling feeling running down Naruto's spine, and he glared back as if to dare Sasuke to agree with her.

"It's just hair" Sasuke shrugged, face as impassive as ever. "The only problem is if it gets in your eyes when you fight."

Naruto glared harder. That answer was just typical for the bastard, having perfect hair that flowed all pretty in the wind and not even caring one bit.

"Aah, you two are no fun" Sakura complained, stretching with one hand straight above her head, the other bent. "I'm only acting on Kushina-san's orders, you know."

"Well, you can do it some other time" Sasuke said, glancing back at the small group of girls watching them nearby. "Come on, Naruto, let's go spar. I need to hit something."

"No way, I'm under orders to keep watch over Naruto until six o'clock" Sakura intervened, just as Naruto had started to nod eagerly.

"If you're talking about the party, I couldn't care less" Sasuke dismissed her with, "But I'm sure this dobe here will show up on time if you ask him to. Now, we're leaving."

Naruto looked between them, completely lost. Party? Were they throwing him a birthday party? But why, if everyone already knew he wasn't Menma... He followed Sasuke automatically, ignoring Sakura's insulted shouting as they left her in the middle of the street. He'd rather have a party back home.

It took him some time to realize, but Sasuke was on his way towards their usual training ground.

"Is there really a party tonight?" he asked when they arrived, Sasuke immediately starting a warm-up stretch.

"If you can call it that" his best friend muttered, which made Naruto extremely curious. "Just be back at your parents' house before six."

"Alright."

Rolling a shoulder, Naruto worried his lip between his teeth, trying to ignore how their surroundings reminded him of where they were. There were so many things he wanted to ask Sasuke, and the party was just one of those. How had his night been, what was he thinking, why did he look like his only pair of chopsticks had broken just before digging in on some tasty ramen... Sometimes he really wished Sasuke wasn't such a block of ice.

"Ready?" Sasuke asked a few minutes later, and Naruto nodded once, moving into position.

He might feel like sighing deeply now, but sparring with Sasuke always got him in a better mood no matter what. There was something so intensely satisfying about punching him in the face, and Naruto couldn't help but grin, Sasuke sending him an answering smirk in return.

If he won, he was definitely dragging Sasuke to that party.

* * *

Looks like reverse Konoha is all about dating huh? I didn't delve into Naruto's and Sasuke's feelings too deeply, because we'll get enough of that later on. Right now they're just trying to get over the initial shock and figure out what's going on.

Well, you'll see later;) And I can hardly wait for Itachi to show up... I hope you enjoyed the chapter:3


	5. Birthday part II

Yay I managed to finish it up so I could post it! To be honest, I'm just messing around a bit with this story, but I hope you find it entertaining.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Birthday part II**

xxx

Sasuke didn't enjoy parties. No, that came out wrong. He didn't know he hated parties with such fierce passion until about an hour ago, when dinner had been eaten and Kushina had left them alone. A few people sat by the kitchen table, a few were on the couch and the rest were on the floor. Sasuke had chosen to stand, leaning against the partly open living room window in a corner and trying his best to ignore the conversations going on around him. He was surprised the small house had space enough for all of them. Somehow, it appeared that all of the "rookie nine" were there, plus Gai's team and Sai. He'd gotten a headache trying to keep up with all the changes in personalities.

It didn't help that the only thing they seemed to talk about was gossip and stupid things that had happened, telling Naruto anything they could think of. At least they'd given up on trying to make Sasuke join in, but he didn't like the uncomfortable look on the dobe's face. Though who could blame him, when he sat with Neji's arm casually slung over his shoulders, and Hinata all but clinging to him on the other side.

Naruto hadn't outright told him, but even Sasuke had snapped up on the fact that he'd rejected the Hyuuga heiress back home. And now the Hinata here was demanding answers to a lot of personal questions regarding the whole thing.

"Come on, Naruto" Sakura begged, "Why can't you just tell us what's going on in your world?"

"Yeah!" Kiba agreed, "Like, I bet Akamaru is a cute kitty over there!"

Neji scoffed, and was that his hand casually wandering across Naruto's shoulder over to Hinata's, bold fingers caressing the nape of her neck? It must have been, because Hinata grabbed his wrist and all but broke it in half, making him scoot as far away as possible from her and Naruto.

Sasuke was itching to grab Naruto and get the hell out of there, especially when a drunk Shikamaru started giggling uncontrollably. He would have, too, if Naruto hadn't made it very clear to him beforehand that it wouldn't be appreciated. These nice people had taken the effort to prepare a party for him, and they needed to stay on their good side if they wanted any help to get home, blah blah blah. If Naruto hadn't looked so uncomfortable, Sasuke might have suspected he'd said all that simply because he wanted to annoy him.

"If we're opposites, would that make me bad at drawing?" Sai mumbled to himself.

"Sai, you're not very good at drawing to begin with" Ino giggled, apparently less shy now that she'd gotten some alcohol into her system.

Another thing Sasuke couldn't understand. Getting drunk was basically like begging for trouble, and these weren't medical ninjas like Tsunade, who could probably get rid of it all in an instant should they get attacked.

Though, when he'd pointed it out, they'd laughed at him and wondered who the hell would want to attack Konoha.

"I think we shouldn't pressure him if he doesn't want to talk" Chouji pointed out, and Sasuke was surprised to admit that so far, Chouji was the person in here that he disliked the least. Out of the alter egos, that is.

Naruto had stayed silent during the whole exchange, which in itself was a little strange. It felt weird to be in a room full of people and not hear his voice constantly growing louder.

"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport, Chouji! I think we're all dying to know! Who's the strongest, who's the prettiest?"

"And who's dating me?!" Hinata interrupted Tenten with, boring her eyes into Naruto's side.

It wasn't the first time that evening that Naruto had glanced at Sasuke, but it was the first time he felt his eye twitch. If Naruto thought Sasuke would comment on this...

"No one is fucking dating you" he, to his horror, heard himself say.

"I bet Sasuke's still the prettiest" Lee piped up, choosing the worst possible timing as everyone had gone dead silent, staring at the Uchiha.

Before he'd had time to react, Naruto shot out of his seat, clapping his hands together hard.

"Okay, how about we do something else? Like, uh, an arm wrestling competition! We'll see if any of you can beat me!"

Sasuke snapped his mouth shut again. He watched Naruto urge the others' attention to himself instead of Sasuke, amused by the lengths he'd go to in order to make sure Sasuke was left alone. It happened a lot. In the end, Lee beat everyone, which wasn't weird considering chakra use wasn't allowed and his entire ninja career depended on him being strong without it. Naruto had taken off his shirt, wiping some sweat off his brow, muscles flexing as he demanded best out of three from Lee. It was surprising how few of the occupants in the room paid attention to the actual arm wrestling. Sure, he knew Naruto had a bunch of fans at home, but that was mainly because of his heroic actions, wasn't it?

"Wow, your Menma is _ripped_."

Sakura had sidled up to him, somewhere between the fourth and fifth rounds.

"It's Naruto."

"Yes yes, I know. You should probably keep an eye on Hinata, she might jump him. Though I can't blame her, he's definitely eye candy."

"Did you start talking to me for a reason?"

He gave her a look, clearly annoyed, and her smile was a little smug.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you and your boyfriend."

"You are all delusional" he muttered. "Are relationships the _only_ thing you care about?"

She frowned at him, tilting her head as if trying to figure out the reason for his sour attitude.

"No need to be so uptight about it" she said, leaning back against the window with a small sigh. "I know what it's like to face prejudice. I like to think it's worth it in the end."

What the _hell_ was she talking about? Sasuke had no idea, and he wasn't interested in figuring out. Fine, he'd promised he wouldn't drag Naruto away from the party, or act rude (which he might have already failed at but he didn't care), but no one could blame him for wanting a bit of fresh air. Turning around he pushed the window open the whole way and promptly jumped out, ignoring Sakura asking where he was going.

It's not like he knew anyway.

He just really, _really _felt like he was going to crawl out of his skin soon if he didn't get out of there. If this was a dream it sure was a creepy one. He glanced back into the room, taking one look at Hinata practically drooling, and jumped up onto the roof. The whole situation was too surreal for him. One day he was contemplating staying in Konoha to give his support to Naruto, and the next he was thrown into this messed up world where everyone in their age group was a total maniac and his parents were loyal to Konoha, and Itachi… was alive.

"Teme, don't just run off like that." Naruto sat down next to him about a minute later, still shirtless, legs slightly bent at the knees and leaning to the sides as he supported himself with his hands behind him. "Sakura-chan got worried."

"She's crazy. They're all crazy. I think I might be getting crazy, too."

Naruto stared at him for a second, then leaned his head back to gaze at the stars instead.

"Yeah, I know the feeling. This place takes a while to get used to."

"How long did you stay last time?"

"Hmm, a few days. It'll be longer this time, huh?"

"Great," Sasuke sighed, "trapped in this place with everyone obsessing over dating. No normal person talks that much about it."

"No?" Naruto gave him an amused look. "You mean _you_ wouldn't talk about it, but normal people probably would."

"You don't."

"No, but I'm not exactly normal, either. And you seem to forget I was all about getting a date with Sakura-chan when we were younger."

Sasuke had honestly forgotten about that.

"And if you had been paying attention back home, you would have noticed that it's a pretty common thing to talk about. I mean, just last week Shikamaru was asked out by that girl in the decoding department, and when he turned her down everyone kept bugging him until he admitted he might have a thing for Temari."

Eyes narrowing, Sasuke pulled the leg that wasn't next to Naruto close to his chest, leaning his chin on it.

"I'd rather you hadn't told me."

Naruto was grinning now, giving him a poke on his arm.

"Why, jealous because people are too scared to ask you out?"

"No, I'm not an idiot compared to the people here. There are way more important things to focus on."

The grin on Naruto's face faded into a more serious look as they stared at each other.

"You think liking someone makes you an idiot?" When he didn't answer, Naruto's gaze hardened. "I told you things are different here. Maybe you and I can't afford to slack off, but you can't look down on the others for wanting to be happy. No one wants to be alone, Sasuke, not even ninjas."

Sasuke averted his eyes, fingertips digging into the cool roof tiles. Naruto might not have said it, but he could hear the implied 'not even you' over the silence.

"Ugh, why am I even trying to explain this" Naruto muttered, scratching his head. He sighed, but didn't try to say anything else. Instead, they spent a few minutes simply sitting there, and Sasuke could feel himself calm down a bit. When Naruto's head fell onto his shoulder, his only reaction was a raised eyebrow.

"Is it bad that I don't want to go back?"

"You're the one who said it was the polite thing to do to come here."

Naruto grimaced at him, then turned his face to groan into his shirt.

"I'd rather just sit here with you. Well it would be better if we were sitting at home."

"You _do_ realize there's a festival for you at home, right?"

"That's not for me" Naruto dismissed it with, "It's for the end of the war and stuff."

"It's still on your birthday."

"Yeah… Do you think the old hag thinks I escaped so I wouldn't have to do that speech?"

"Even you aren't that stupid."

Naruto tilted his head to glare up at him.

"Gee, thanks Sasuke. I feel so much better now."

Sasuke shrugged, Naruto's head bobbing with the movement.

"Aah, and I was gonna get you drunk and everything, all my plans got totally ruined."

He grinned when Sasuke sent him a scathing look.

"Plus, I would have been able to buy those porn mags without having to use a disguise."

His grin threatened to split his face in half when Sasuke paled. He'd never get over the time he'd found one on the floor in Naruto's bedroom while waiting for the moron to get dressed. Funny how his memory liked to gloss over the fact that Naruto was a pervert.

"You are such a loser" he said, Naruto hitting him for the comment.

"Hey! You're talking to the student of the legendary Ero-sennin! I need to keep up the tradition. Besides, I mostly just use them for reference when I practice my techniques."

Sasuke chose to ignore the 'mostly' in that sentence. It was bad enough he had those perverted techniques, and even worse that he tended to use them every chance he got. He'd even asked if he wanted to do a combo with him, and Sasuke had answered by not talking to him for two days. At least he never bothered to use them while they were sparring, knowing how much Sasuke disliked it. Both the female and male version, despite Sai dropping hints that they both preferred the male one.

He'd even shamelessly used it during the finals of the chuunin exam. He was one hundred percent sure that Naruto had made a bet with Konohamaru over it, because the dobe had been way too smug over that particular victory against an unsuspecting genin from Suna.

"Are you coming with me?" Naruto asked, the sound muffled because he'd buried his face in the crook of Sasuke's neck now.

Normally Sasuke would have been bothered by the body contact, but the chuunin exam had been held in Kumogakure, the second part taking place down in some tunnels and caves underneath a mountain. Turns out one of the strongest ninja in existence was afraid of the compact darkness, claiming every little sound that wasn't necessarily an enemy team might be a ghost. He'd been clinging to Sasuke _a lot_, and perhaps he got used to it.

"No."

"But Sasukeee why not?!"

"Don't hug me."

It wasn't technically a hug, but Naruto's hands held on to Sasuke's shirt and while he might have tolerated it in those caves, this wasn't the same.

"But I'm cold."

"So go inside again."

To Sasuke, Naruto didn't feel the least bit cold, and he used his shoulder to try and shrug him off. Naruto fought him for a few seconds, but when the presence of another ninja approached he stopped, sitting up straight again.

"Naruto, Sasuke" Minato greeted them with as he landed in front of them, giving them a nice smile. "Happy birthday."

"Oh, uh, thanks" Naruto said, while Sasuke gave a nod.

"It's very unexpected, but it's nice to meet you again. And to meet you too, of course, Sasuke. We never got the chance to properly thank you for helping Menma last time."

"Ah, well, that was…" Naruto trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. "No need to thank me."

Minato beamed at him, then took a step back.

"Well, I didn't mean to interrupt. I hope you're enjoying the party, Naruto. I was thinking we can talk a bit tomorrow, I'd like to see you use the Hiraishin."

"Of course!"

As Minato disappeared as quickly as he came, Sasuke noticed Naruto staring after him.

"I'll be helping out at the police headquarters tomorrow" he informed, to let Naruto know he most likely couldn't make it to meet Minato.

"Really? Are you gonna be okay?"

"You can stop asking me that."

"I dunno, just now you said you were going crazy…" Naruto's face was scrunched up in suspicion. "What if you have a brain fart and release all the prisoners?!"

He smacked the back of Naruto's head, watching in satisfaction as he flew forwards, rolling in mid-air and landing feet first on the railing below.

"Teme!" He was going to say more, it seemed, but the front door flew open and an evidently drunk Hinata stalked over to him.

"Why are you shirtless?!"

"Uh, umm, I-"

"Aah, Hinata calm down, I've got his shirt right here."

Sasuke wasn't sure if he should be amused or downright horrified as Hinata ripped the shirt out of Sakura's hands and lunged for Naruto. He supposed she wanted to put it on, but Naruto was jumping around her like she was trying to kill him.

"Hinata, I can put it on myself!"

The problem was solved by Sakura promptly whacking Hinata over her neck, rendering her unconscious.

"Don't worry, I'll get her home safely."

"Uuh, Sakura-chan, I'm not sure I like the look in your eyes…"

Sasuke walked over to the edge of the roof, peering down at the other ninja as they started milling out of the house.

"I think everyone is ready to go home" Chouji announced, dragging a snoring Shikamaru by his chuunin vest.

He had to admit it was almost impressive. It had barely been two hours or so since dinner finished, and they were already this drunk. He stayed where he was, watching them all drop off, Sai hugging Naruto a little too long to be decent. Naruto stared after them, then raised his eyes to frown at Sasuke.

"Are you staying over?" he asked, and Sasuke shrugged. "Then you're staying" the dobe concluded for him, flinging his shirt across one shoulder and entering the house again.

With a small sigh he followed after, figuring he'd allow Naruto to order him around just this once.

* * *

Sooo who thinks they're gonna have some smoking hot sex now that they're finally alone? Sorry to disappoint you though, it's gonna take a while for that to happen... But how exciting won't it be to see Sasuke being part of the police force! I bet he looks hot in the uniform... I think they have a uniform. I guess I'll have to do more research.

First I thought I'd make Sasuke go genjutsu on everyone so they would shut up, but he was nice for once. Just terribly much out of his comfort zone.

And now I feel like I wanna write about what happened during their chuunin exam... haha well, as long as Sasuke doesn't mind body contact too much Naruto has a chance, right?

Also, I'm going to start posting this on ao3 as well. It will be interesting.


	6. Closer

Somehow I woke up and really felt like writing the next chapter for this. And I'd like to say, that while I care about canon, I also really don't care about canon. But I hope you all saw that post of new design older Naruto with his right hand bandaged (because of his mark?) because I will be shamelessly using that to suit the plot in this story from now on. I feel like I should have thought about it before. Well, I won't reveal my plans just yet, hehe.

Speaking of plans, my original plan for the plot of this is so ridiculous that I'm almost ashamed. I mean, I would be if I didn't think my own jokes are so damn funny all the time. But don't worry, I have seen my errors and this has a serious plot, though there will still be funny parts. Just not, uh, Menma turning into a fluffy baby fox whenever someone says the name Kurama, or child!Kaguya showing up as the final villain because she so very much wants to have a tea party with her grandsons, kind of funny.

Just writing it out makes me wonder what the hell is wrong with me sometimes. I don't write crack.

Or do I? I blame a certain someone. You know who you are.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Closer**

xxx

Blinking slowly, Naruto's eyes tried to focus in the dim morning light sifting in through the curtains. He turned his head to the left, his body following after so that he faced Sasuke. Running his eyes over his relaxed features, he scooted just a tiny bit closer, though there was still a decent amount of space between them. He liked waking up next to Sasuke. The few times it happened made him feel like he was a morning person.

Because Sasuke was the most fun to tease in the morning, not to mention a sleeping Sasuke was a nice change from the usual, tense one. Sasuke was always on guard, somehow, always thinking _what if. _He felt a little guilty for forcing him to attend the party, but shrugged it off.

He was selfish enough to want Sasuke there on his birthday, besides, he was the only one there from their own world, and Naruto needed a distraction so he wouldn't think of all the people that must be worried about them. If Sasuke was there, things were normal.

Sighing lightly through his nose, he lifted his hand to brush a few of Sasuke's dark bangs from his face, the other ninja also sleeping on his side. He tucked them behind his ear, lips quirking when dark eyebrows slanted in an unconscious frown. Letting his fingertips trace down the side of his cheek, neck, over his shoulder, he felt something squeeze inside his chest at the thought of Sasuke trusting him enough to not wake up as he did. He paused with his palm flat against his chest, Sasuke's heartbeat a steady thump, thump, thump against the circular mark in the middle of it. There was a slight tingle spreading across his skin as Sasuke's body heat seeped through his shirt and into Naruto's hand.

Then Sasuke stirred, and he retracted his hand, rolling onto his back again and pretending to sleep.

xxx

Gazing up at the impressive sand-colored stone building, Sasuke was reminded of the time he was little and asked Itachi why the shape resembled a cat. While Itachi had only smiled and said nothing, he had to admit that looking at it again, the resemblance was striking. The upper part was shaped in a half-moon, two round windows on each side for eyes, and there were two actual ears adorning the roof. In the middle was a tall protuberance of lighter color, a window split in many small glass panes covering most of the front, the Konoha police force symbol proudly hung at the top. Stairs as wide as the front of the building led up to the entrance, supportive pillars along the sides.

It was a building he'd seen many times as a child, but entered few.

Other buildings were scattered around it, creating a rather large compound, and somewhere among them was the prison for the less dangerous criminals. In his dimension, the whole thing had been rebuilt with a different design after Pein's invasion, though the symbol with the four-pointed grey star and the Uchiha crest in the middle hadn't been used in a long time.

He followed Fugaku inside, through a waiting room that was empty at the moment save for one ninja by an information desk who nodded at them with a polite smile. Fugaku might be the leader of the police force here as well, but he was nothing like the stern father he'd grown up with.

"In here is where most of the work is done," he informed in a low voice, pushing open a large door to reveal a spacious room filled with desks in neat rows, almost all of them occupied despite the early hour.

Though, Sasuke had been allowed to sleep in a bit, due to Naruto's birthday.

It took his brain a while to process the view that met him, because seeing all these Uchiha clan members in one place was like a strange dream. Some of them he recognized, others he didn't. There were also a few non-Uchiha, but it seemed as if tradition held true.

"Fugaku-taichou, here are the reports you requested."

Sasuke eyed the man that had approached them, recognizing him as one of the people that had confronted Itachi once about his loyalty towards the clan.

"Thank you, Inabi," Fugaku said, accepting the papers and leafing through them distractedly.

"Oh, Sasuke! It's been a while, how are you?"

Inabi was smiling at him, and Sasuke had to force down the urge to question him about the things he'd said to Itachi. His brain knew that this was an alternate dimension, and that here, people that should be dead weren't and hadn't done the things he could remember them doing. It didn't help his subconscious reactions, however, and he clenched his teeth to force down the uncomfortable feeling.

"Fine, thank you," he forced out, probably not sounding very convincing because the other man frowned slightly.

To his luck, Fugaku ushered him further inside towards his office, no one else bothering them along the way. He had to swallow several times, trying to push down the memories of some of these ninja being ten years younger, lying dead all over the Uchiha compound.

"You look a little pale, is everything alright?" Fugaku asked once they were safely inside the office.

Sasuke didn't know what to say. _Sure, I'm just having trouble separating memories from reality._ If this could be called reality.

"Hn," his supposed father answered when he nodded, not pressing the issue. "At first I'd thought to ask that you help out with some reports, but Naori requested an assistant while doing her rounds so you will be helping her, if you don't mind."

"That's fine," Sasuke said, eager to get out of there again.

He didn't think he could survive sitting in that room for hours, surrounded by living ghosts.

"I'll call her, then."

Fugaku got up, exchanging a few words with someone outside the door, then returned to sit behind his desk.

"I haven't had the time yet to explain the situation to everyone, it seems Tsunade-sama isn't sure whether we can spread the information or not. However, considering the difference in personality, I don't think anyone would believe that the two of you are the same person."

Sasuke almost snorted at that.

"I figured we would tell anyone who demands to know, and not make an issue of it for the time being. I will explain things to Naori."

Nodding again, Sasuke wondered if she was named after the woman Itachi had described to him, the ancestor that used the Izanami. He couldn't remember someone with that name, but it was highly possible that there were members of the Uchiha clan that existed simply because this world hadn't been affected by wars and causing many to die prematurely.

He sat down in one of the chairs, listening with half an ear to Fugaku explaining about current issues and actions being taken to solve them. There didn't seem to be much going on, though it appeared that a few criminals had escaped during Menma's attack on the village and they were still tracking them down. Other than that, Konoha had received an unexpected amount of missions lately, and several members of the police force had been asked by the Hokage to help.

He almost wished he'd declined helping out, though he couldn't think of a reason for doing so. All he knew was that, while this world seemed to offer the life he had expected for himself as a child, it also left a bitter aftertaste inside his mouth.

xxx

"I'm very impressed" Minato said, and Naruto felt his face heat up as he received the praise. "I haven't tried teaching Menma yet."

"Well, I just really wanted to learn it" Naruto answered, grinning as he sat down on the grass in the middle of a training ground. "I can take a person with me, too."

Minato nodded, sitting down as well. They'd spent the past hour comparing their use of the technique, and Naruto was very happy to get tips directly from Minato. There weren't really anyone else in Konoha who knew how to use it.

"You're a skilled ninja, Naruto. Maybe when Menma meets you, he'll put a little more effort into his training."

"Well, I worked hard for it! I can use sage techniques too, and-" he chuckled, embarrassed. "I didn't mean to brag."

"Oh, no, that's fine. So, you're a jounin, then?"

Naruto grimaced.

"Uh, well, I'm supposed to take the test in a year or so. There were a lot of things happening, and, I was off training and stuff too."

Admitting that he passed the chuunin exam just a few months ago didn't really sound so good, in his opinion. He didn't want to brag, but it would be annoying if people thought that his chuunin status reflected his skills in any way.

"So you got delayed?"

He nodded, sighing inwardly. It was so difficult to explain things without getting into the whole story of Sasuke and the war.

"It would be very interesting to see you spar with Menma when he comes back, I'm sure there are many differences between your fighting styles."

Thinking back to their previous fight, Naruto realized there was something that had been bugging him for a while. Namely, the fact that it had been a full blown Kurama vs Kurama fight.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"But of course!"

"If Menma has Kurama, how is it possible that Kushina is alive?"

Minato looked at him in contemplative silence, crossing his legs to sit more comfortably.

"Well, by Kurama I assume you mean the Kyuubi?" When Naruto nodded, he continued. "When Menma was born, the seal was weakened and it tried to escape. We managed to stop it, by first sealing the part still remaining within Kushina inside of her, and then sealing the escaped part inside of Menma."

"So they both have one part each?"

Naruto was gaping. Sure, his dad had sealed the Yin part within himself and the Yang part within Naruto, though he now possessed both halves. To think that here, almost the same thing had happened without any help from Obito…

"Yes, but Kushina can't use her part. It's only for safe-keeping. And Menma can only use a small part of its chakra."

"But when I fought him, he could… no, that was probably because of Obito…"

"Obito?"

Naruto winced. Well, shit.

"The masked man, I mean."

"The masked man was Obito?!"

Minato looked positively upset, and Naruto wasn't surprised.

"Not _your_ Obito. I didn't mean to tell you. A lot of things happened, but everything is fine now back home, so you don't need to worry about it."

The crease between Minato's brows was still deep, and Naruto lowered his eyes. He supposed it would be impossible to keep everything secret, especially if they had to stay for a while.

"It seems," Minato started slowly, "that a lot of things are different between our worlds. You mentioned that I was the fourth Hokage, too."

Naruto bit his lip, flexing his right hand. The bandage covering it served as a painful reminder of all the things he'd gone through to get where he was now, and he wasn't looking forward to an eventual explanation being forced out of him. Minato hadn't questioned him when he'd asked to swing by a shop for some new bandage, having discarded the old last night. It was only a question of time, though, before someone asked about it.

And it didn't help that Sasuke had a matching left hand.

xxx

Once Fugaku had explained things to Naori, who seemed to be in her early twenties, she took him to a changing room past a long corridor. She dug through a few cartons, glancing at him now and then in order to measure his size. She settled for two sizes in the end, handing them both to him and declaring she would wait for him outside.

Two folded standard ninja shirts in hand, he wondered why he needed to switch from the one he already wore. Though, he supposed, it would look better if he wore the correct symbol on the sides of his arms. He slipped out of his vest and shirt, holding up the two new ones to check which would fit. Picking one, he turned it and stuck his arms inside, pausing before pulling it on.

By wearing this, he'd be fulfilling one of his childhood dreams, in a sense. He could remember the feeling of pride, knowing his father was the leader of the police force, certain that one day, he'd be the same.

Inhaling deeply, he wound his arms all the way through the sleeves, pulling it on in a swift move. It fit, and he ran a finger over the symbol on one arm, feeling the unfamiliar shape of it. Thinning his lips he grabbed his vest and wasted no time putting it on again, leaving the other shirt on top of a box and bringing his own outside with him.

"Oh, you can put it in an empty locker, if you want," Naori said, all business, and Sasuke did as told.

It was nice to be paired with someone who didn't seem overly friendly with him, though perhaps she was just professional. He'd almost believed that no one here was.

"We'll be taking a tour over the east side of the wall, check in with a store owner that recently experienced a burglary on the way there, and a few other minor things," she explained as they left the building at a slow walk, making no move to speed up the process of getting there.

"Are we walking there?" he asked, not thrilled about the prospect of parading through half the village on their way.

"Of course!" She seemed surprised by his question. "In order for the villagers to feel safe, we need to be seen, as opposed to the other ninjas on duty."

She was smiling at him, expression curious, and Sasuke felt he shouldn't have asked. The less people guessed about him the better.

As they walked, quite a few people turned to stare after them. Not just girls, but others as well, and it made Sasuke wonder if they were surprised by the sight of 'him' all serious while on duty, dressed in police attire.

"Hmm, Sasu-chan sure has a lot of admirers," Naori mused, and Sasuke froze mid-step.

"What did you call him?" he asked, voice weaker than he wanted to admit.

"Oh, sorry," she chuckled, waiting for him to defrost again. "He was such a sweet child, and old habits die hard. Though, I suppose when he grows up a bit to be more like you, I won't be able to call him that anymore."

Her smile wasn't flirtatious, and Sasuke was thankful that she seemed to think of him more as a little brother than anything else.

"We're the same age, though," he said, limbs relaxing again as she gaped at him.

"Really? I thought you were past twenty, at least!"

He raised an eyebrow at her, continuing to walk.

"Must be the difference in your personality," she said when she caught up with him. "How strange."

"Most of the people here have a different personality compared to where I'm from" he offered as explanation, not wanting her to ask any questions regarding how they grew up.

She thought about it for a while, but decided to drop the issue.

"Alright, then." She pointed to a building about a hundred meters away. "That's where we're going now. I apologize beforehand, because you will most likely be bored out of your mind listening to that old woman talk. I know I will be."

Sasuke didn't mind. He'd take a boring woman any day over the stares he got from people who seemed to have nothing better to do. At least it took his mind off other things, like why he'd had the lingering feeling that Naruto had been much closer just before he woke up…

* * *

I couldn't resist sneaking in some subtext romance already. I mean, the entire manga is built on subtext romance, anyway. Except when it's painfully obvious and written badly. Let's hope I can think of something to write in the next chapter. All in favor of throwing in Itachi soon raise a hand.


	7. A simple touch

The good news is that I now know the plot for this story. Bad news are currently ignored. And I wasn't going to update this so soon, but you know. Shit happens.

And to those of you reading this without an account, it's smarter to review on ao3 because then I can reply. If anyone feels like reviewing.

For this chapter, I'd just like to say that the gay is becoming too strong already and I don't know if I should laugh at Naruto or just hit him with something.

* * *

**Chapter 7: A simple touch**

xxx

"Welcome!" Mikoto smiled as she opened the door, ushering all three of them inside. "Sasuke is in the bath, but he should be down shortly."

Naruto glanced at the adults as they all tried to fit into the relatively narrow hallway, shucking off his shoes and shuffling his feet as he moved towards the end of it.

"Umm, I'll go talk to Sasuke," he announced, turning before they could stop him and taking the stairs two steps at a time.

The door wasn't locked, so he pulled it open and entered, leaning against it in a casual pose.

"Hey, teme," he greeted Sasuke with, only his head and part of his neck above the water in the bathtub as he sent a half-hearted glare in Naruto's direction.

"Are you going to start bothering me when I'm taking baths from now on, too?"

Naruto grinned, taking a seat on the edge of the tub, facing Sasuke and pulling one knee up close to his body, running a few fingers through the water surface.

"I just thought we could have some quality time without the others."

Sighing through his nose, one of Sasuke's hands emerged from the water to push Naruto's foot off the edge.

"One: I'm not sure I want to know how you messed up this time, and two: your foot smells."

Making an indignant sound, Naruto pouted and put his foot back in childish protest.

"What makes you think I messed up? I mean, fine, I might have told Minato that Obito was the masked man that controlled Menma, but…"

Sasuke pinched his nose with closed eyes for a few seconds, then glared at him.

"Great. We've been here, what, three days? I should have known."

"Hey! It just slipped out, okay? He's not gonna start spreading it around the village or anything."

"No, but I'd rather not get an order from the Hokage that we have to tell them exactly what happened."

They stared at each other, Sasuke with a frown and Naruto with pursed lips. They hadn't exactly made any agreements on what to tell and what to keep to themselves, though both of them seemed to agree that the less the better.

"It won't happen again."

"No, forget it." Sasuke shook his head slowly, sinking a little deeper into the bath. "We can't keep it all secret, anyway. But try not to say too much."

When Sasuke fell silent, Naruto took the opportunity to search his face for any clues as to how his day had been. There was a light flush on his cheeks, the ends of his hair dipping into the water but otherwise starting to dry, eyes half-lidded as Naruto was blatantly ignored.

"Haven't you been in there a little long? I mean, it's so hot in here that even I feel like I'm getting a heatstroke."

Sasuke's glance was irritated, clearly stating that he should mind his own business. Naruto was fairly certain that Sasuke's health very much fell under the category of 'his own business' however, and so he bore his eyes into the Uchiha until he rolled his, pulling out the plug using toes.

"Happy now?"

Sasuke stood up, water splashing in the tub as it fell from his lean body. It took Naruto a few seconds of blinking in surprise before he realized that the hand Sasuke held out was demanding him to give him a towel.

"I know I offered to teach you the Reverse harem technique, but I think you wouldn't need it. You could just get naked instead."

The look on Sasuke's face made Naruto think he was going to facepalm, which would have been extremely hilarious but also make him suspect he was dealing with an impostor.

"Every time I start thinking you've grown up a little, you prove me dead wrong."

"What the hell! What kind of backhanded compliment was that!"

"It wasn't a compliment."

"Tch, you're such a bastard you know that?"

Sasuke was drying his hair, having stepped out of the tub, looking down at the still seated Naruto now with a haughty expression. Crossing his arms and letting his foot hit the floor, Naruto glared back as hard as he could.

"Whatever, I know you used to wear that open shirt because you thought it made you look hot."

"Wrong. It made it easier to use the curse mark stage two."

"Liar."

"Think what you want."

"Thanks, I will!"

He grinned again, if only because he knew it would piss Sasuke off. And sure enough, there was that familiar tick in Sasuke's eye as he started pulling on clean clothes, standard ninja pants with an open, high collared white t-shirt.

"You like the other Sasuke's clothes, don't you?"

"This isn't his."

If the words hadn't already confirmed it, Sasuke's stiffened posture spoke for itself. Naruto's grin faltered, wondering just what made Sasuke pick one of Itachi's shirts.

"Everything was purple or too tight, so Mikoto gave me this."

Huh, so that explained it.

"I thought you liked purple?" Naruto teased, not enjoying the newfound tense atmosphere. "I mean, you had a skirt and everything."

"It wasn't a skirt," Sasuke bit out, hanging the towel on its place and gathering up his dirty clothes.

"It even had a _ribbon_- whoa!"

Sasuke had grabbed the front of his jumpsuit jacket, holding him in a threatening grip above the bathtub, where water was still busy pouring down the drain.

"It wasn't a skirt."

Naruto tried chuckling, but Sasuke's grip only tightened as his glare turned vicious.

"But if I tell you I liked it?"

Sasuke seemed to fight with himself for a moment, but eventually dropped Naruto so that he was forced to grab the edges to prevent himself from getting wet.

"Why don't you stay here and drown while I go down for dinner."

"Oh come on, not cool, Sasuke! I was just messing with you!"

The other ninja didn't say anything, but Naruto could tell he wasn't that angry. Or, at least he hoped so. Hurrying after Sasuke he patted down the back of his clothes, making sure he wasn't wet anywhere. The door to Sasuke's room slammed shut in his face, but he simply groaned a little and went inside anyway.

"Give me that," he ordered after closing the door again, Sasuke sighing but throwing the roll of bandage to him anyway.

He gave Sasuke a light push so that he sat down on the bed, and pulled up a chair to sit in front of him. Taking a light hold of the pale wrist stretched out towards him to pull it closer, he started covering Sasuke's hand with the bandage. He hummed a tune, probably something annoying judging by the look in dark eyes. All it did was make him hum a little louder.

"Don't do that," Sasuke said, an almost imperceptible pause at the end that only strengthened when their eyes locked and Naruto fell silent.

A year ago, Sasuke had told him the same thing. It had been afterwards, with everything returning to a relatively normal state, that they found themselves inside a tent with Sakura tending to some of Kakashi's more minor wounds as they waited for Tsunade to join them. They'd been sitting on the ground, exhausted, and Naruto had crossed his arms over his bent knees, laying his head over them to quietly stare at Sasuke. Dirt covered them both, and he had traced a faint trail of blood leading down Sasuke's left arm, first with his eyes, then with his fingertips. He could feel his –friend's? rival's? it didn't matter– gaze on him, watching him as if too tired to object. Sasuke felt warmer than he had expected. When he'd reached a pale hand, he'd closed his own over it, palm flat over its back.

Sasuke had started, and tried to remove his hand but he'd gripped it tight.

"_Don't do that_," Sasuke had spat, tugging hard enough to force Naruto into letting go.

"_Why not?_" It wasn't that he absolutely needed to hold Sasuke's hand or anything, but if it got him talking he'd take the chance.

Sasuke had struggled for words a moment, turning his head awkwardly to the side.

"_I don't need to see all that again_."

His voice had been low, as if he didn't want the others to hear, and Naruto had gotten to his knees in confusion. Leaning to face Sasuke again, he'd frowned at him.

"_See what?_"

"_Your regrets._"

It had taken him a whole minute to try and figure out what he'd meant. He'd forgotten all about it, hadn't exactly realized that everyone was able to see what ran through his mind at the time. His cheeks had heated up, but he'd balled his fists and moved to sit in front of Sasuke.

"_I'm not going to apologize for the truth,_" he'd said with conviction, searching Sasuke's face when he still refused to look at him. "_But I wasn't doing anything just now_."

"_You were,_" Sasuke had gritted out through clenched teeth. "_When you touched me._"

He'd hesitated then, opening his palm to stare at the mark in the center. Was that it? He'd placed his left hand on Sasuke's arm for comparison, and at first the other ninja had tensed. When Sasuke's eyes had flickered to meet his, he'd figured that it really had been the mark. Holding Sasuke's arm steady he'd placed his right palm over it again, and a second later Sasuke had pushed it off like it burned. When Naruto put it on his wrist warmer instead he'd almost felt like it was some sort of childish game, but Sasuke hadn't reacted with the fabric separating skin.

They'd stared at each other for a long moment, until Naruto had gotten up to ask for some bandages from Sakura. That time, he'd only covered Sasuke's palm instead of entire hand, taking great care as he secured the knot.

Now, he lowered his eyes to Sasuke's hand again, finishing his task and picking up his humming as well. Sasuke didn't bother to tell him off again, and he folded the knot underneath a layer of white bandage with a contented smile.

"There you go," he said, Sasuke only pursing his lips slightly as they got up to head downstairs.

xxx

Dinner was surprisingly nice. Naruto was entertaining everyone with stories from the time he went travelling with Jiraiya, a safe topic it seemed, and Sasuke was fine just sitting back to listen. Kushina knew her fair share of stories, too, and the two of them kept the atmosphere light and cheerful. Sasuke had to wonder, however, if Naruto was pushing himself. He'd been so serious since they arrived, which wasn't unusual for him to be, but this was different. Of course, they were in trouble, but Sasuke would have thought that Naruto would try to enjoy himself while they waited.

Instead, it seemed as if the amount of rare moments they shared where Naruto seemed to be able to read every thought inside his head with little effort had escalated in number. Naruto may have proved himself to have grown out of his twelve-year-old attention-deprived goofy phase long ago, but Sasuke was starting to think that either something bad had happened last time Naruto was here, or they were in more trouble than they appeared to be. Not that Sasuke took the situation lightly, but watching Naruto laughing and joking now made him realize the absence of it the past few days.

Or well, absence was perhaps the wrong word. It was more a feeling that told him there was something wrong with Naruto. Was it because of his birthday? Sasuke didn't know. Sure, they were stuck here and Naruto had responsibilities, too, but that still didn't fully explain it. And the way Naruto had looked at him while putting on his bandage…

He was thankful that Naruto had never tried to show him his memories again after that first time, and had never asked to see Sasuke's. He got the impression sometimes that Naruto wanted to, and he wasn't sure what to think of that. Usually, he brushed all these thoughts off. Better to focus on the things he knew, and the present.

When the topic changed to Minato and Naruto's training session earlier that day, he focused on the conversation as Fugaku questioned Minato about the situation.

"Well," Minato explained, "it seems strange to me that Naruto would be able to use the Hiraishin to move to an entirely different dimension. First of all, you'd need a seal on something here, but the seal you were aiming for was on Sasuke's sword, wasn't it?"

He directed the last part at Naruto, who nodded, his expression attentive.

"And we didn't move from the spot we were standing in, either," he said, looking at Sasuke for confirmation.

"We did fall," he reminded the dobe, raising an eyebrow when Naruto flushed angrily.

"But that was your fault!"

"What happened?" Minato asked, and Naruto made a grimace.

"Sasuke wanted me to stand still in front of him so he could practice entering that weird dimension like Obito can do, but it was my turn so I wanted to teleport, and then he grabbed me and we fell."

"Not exactly what happened, but close enough," Sasuke commented with a raised eyebrow.

"Teme," Naruto muttered, leaning back in his chair with crossed arms.

"Language, young man!" Kushina berated him with a stern look, causing him to wince slightly.

"That reminds me, Sasuke. Tsunade-sama never told me what teleportation technique you were using?"

Sasuke glanced at Minato, then at Fugaku and Mikoto who seemed to share some sort of look. As Uchiha, they would of course know the conditions for developing the Mangekyo Sharingan as well as the Rinnegan. Unless things were different here.

"We meant to ask about that…" Mikoto started, her serious way of saying it causing everyone to look between them. "Only Obito can use the Mangekyo Sharingan, and Madara is the only one known to recently have possessed the Rinnegan."

"Oh, so Sasuke used one of those?" Kushina asked, oblivious to the tension in the room.

"The Rinnegan, yes," he answered, guessing that Tsunade had already told his parents.

"And, it's rare?" Kushina trailed off, having asked only because no one explained, Minato placing a hand on her arm to stop her from asking more.

"What about Kakashi?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, so you know about that? No, he can only use the Sharingan," Fugaku told him. "Obito forbid him to develop it further. Considering how he likes to overexert himself…"

…_he would go blind in no time_, Sasuke finished inside his head. So that was one thing that didn't seem to have changed, though it was with surprised relief that he'd taken the news of neither Itachi nor Shisui possessing it.

"I'm lost," Kushina admitted, Minato agreeing with a strained smile.

"I think this might not be a proper conversation for the dinner table," Fugaku said with finality, examining Sasuke with troubled eyes as he spoke.

Averting his eyes, Sasuke caught Naruto staring at him, and again he had that feeling of Naruto being able to tell exactly what was going through his head.

"On a brighter note," Mikoto said, smiling gently, "Itachi sent a message that he should be home tomorrow for a visit."

The blue in Naruto's irises seemed to darken as he kept their gazes locked for a few more seconds. Then his features relaxed into a pleasant smile matching Mikoto's, though his eyes were still boring into Sasuke's.

"Sounds great!" Naruto said, and Sasuke had to wonder what he was thinking in that moment.

As for what he thought himself… He'd rather not delve into that.

* * *

Yes, Itachi next chapter! This should be exiting... Also, the amount of research I had to do for this chapter isn't funny. But I think I've gotten most of it down for the plot and background. Narutopedia is like the smart best friend that makes you wonder if your head is empty after all.


	8. The number one distraction

Ok I've been going back and forth with this chapter so much now, it's tiring really. I'll just leave it here for you to judge.

* * *

**Chapter 8: The number one distraction**

xxx

There was a coil of anticipation in Sasuke's stomach that he did his best to ignore throughout the day. Thankfully he'd been able to spend the day accompanying Naori again, which was good because it was easier to deal with someone he didn't know from before. He didn't need to be constantly reminded of his past whenever he looked at her, as opposed to Fugaku and Mikoto. He'd gotten the feeling last night that soon, he would need to face a serious conversation with them. It gnawed at the back of his mind, and he ran through several possible scenarios inside his head as he followed Naori around the village. She seemed to have been having a great day, conversing with him in a light tone, greeting many of the villagers with a smile.

He tried to push thoughts of Itachi out of his head as he changed shirts when his shift had ended, staring blankly into his locker, though without much success. It had been a year since he last saw him, during their fight with Kabuto. It hadn't been enough time, not even close, though their whole relationship seemed to be defined by those words. Always being told '_Next time, Sasuke'_.

And now he was facing that time. This was that next time, though in another dimension, with another Itachi, an Itachi that was still alive and healthy… He swallowed thickly, zipping up his chuunin vest. One part of him really thought like that, that this was his chance to have the brother of his childhood back, but it was struggling hard against the part of him that steeled itself to face a completely different Itachi, a stranger. _Another Sasuke's brother._ What was this Itachi like? He was dying to know, and hadn't dared ask someone. From what he'd snapped up, he seemed to be thought of as strong and serious, but there was a slight disappointment over the fact that he'd left the village to work for Akatsuki instead. He was curios to find out the reason, if Itachi would tell him.

Walking through the main room was still an uncomfortable experience, and he fixated his gaze on the door so he wouldn't need to look at anyone. He breathed a small sigh of relief as he stepped outside, having passed the lobby as well, taking the few steps to the left needed to reach Naruto.

"You sure took your time changing."

Sasuke shrugged, glancing down at the blond where he sat on the uppermost step, arms crossed over his knees.

"No one told you to pick me up."

"Teme, would it kill you to say a simple thanks?"

Instead of answering he started descending the stairs, listening to Naruto getting up with a grumbled "Tch, bastard," and allowing a tiny smile to graze his features. He didn't want to admit it, but Naruto's presence lifted a layer of tension from his shoulders. He carefully schooled his expression back into indifference when Naruto fell into step beside him, arms behind his neck and lips pursed in thought.

"You know, it was kinda nice at first to get some vacation, but now I'm starting to get bored."

"Then find a job."

"Easy for you to say! Tsunade wouldn't let me do missions, and I don't have a dad who can pull strings like yours."

"Hn."

"I have to sit at home bored out of my mind and you get to walk around the village and be all cool and stuff…"

"Are you sulking? Poor dead last, can't get a job."

"Hey!" Naruto had jumped in front of him, bristling with anger, and Sasuke pushed his hands down his pockets, one eyebrow mockingly raised. "You can't call me that, I'm stronger than you!"

"Hn, I'll call you what I want."

Naruto opened his mouth again, but snapped it shut with an incredulous look on his face.

"Wait did you just-"

"Naruto!"

Sasuke felt what little amount of good mood he was in disappear, Hinata approaching them quickly from across the small square in front of the police building.

"Hey, Hinata, what are you doing here?" Naruto didn't sound very enthusiastic as he turned around to greet her, blocking Sasuke's view of her momentarily.

"We're heading over to Ichiraku's for an early dinner, the others are already there."

She came to a halt next to them, an expectant look on her face as if Naruto's natural response would be to immediately go with her. Which it usually was, whether she could know that or not.

"Oh, yeah, I heard from Sakura-chan. But I already told her I'm spending the evening with Sasuke."

Not that Sasuke could remember agreeing to that, but he wasn't about to disagree. Hinata seemed to rub him the wrong way no matter what, and he gave her a cold stare when she put her hands to her sides and leaned threateningly towards Naruto.

"Doesn't matter, you're coming with me."

"Umm, but-"

"Don't even think about it." Sasuke reached a hand out to intercept the one Hinata stretched towards Naruto's shirt, grabbing her wrist and squeezing it in warning.

"What the hell!" She pulled her arm free, directing her newfound anger towards him. "Are you his guard dog or something?"

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, fed up with her attitude and most likely overreacting, he stared her down with a look of contempt.

"What I am is none of your business. You, however, are _nothing_ to us. His answer was no, now get lost."

He could see Naruto gaping at him from the corner of his eye before he was forced to sidestep Hinata's hand reaching out again, this time with her fist enclosed in chakra. Placing one foot behind the other, he twirled around and promptly ran a knee into her back as she passed him, sending her flying towards the ground. Perhaps it was the fact that his nerves had already been tightly wound as it was, perhaps he'd just had enough of her, either way it felt highly satisfying to see her coughing on all fours.

"Sasuke!" Naruto's voice sounded worried and reprimanding all at once, and he sighed in response.

"Whatever, let's go."

He started walking again, Naruto catching up but sending glances over his shoulder towards Hinata.

"You didn't have to be so rude," he said, a frown on his face, teeth biting on his upper lip.

"No, but I chose to be. Maybe if you weren't such a pushover I wouldn't have needed to."

"What?!" Naruto exploded, shoving at his arm. "You can't just go around kicking people whenever they bother you! Everyone's been really nice to us and-"

"In what way has she been _nice_?" he bit out, clenching his fists within his pockets. "You need to stop being so scared of people disliking you. Not everyone is going to anyway, and why would you need to stay on _her _good side? You have enough people liking you already, you can afford to be a little rude if it gets the point across."

Naruto was gaping again, at a loss for words apparently, because he was making strangled noises while trying to keep up with Sasuke's fast pace. He forced his gaze away from widened blue eyes, gritting his teeth. What kind of nerve did that girl have, demanding Naruto's obedience like that? And then that moron, letting himself get pushed around, by someone whose neck he could snap with the flick of a wrist. Though, he tended to act the same way around Sakura at home, too.

"I'm not _scared_," Naruto objected, and Sasuke heaved a frustrated sigh. "You can't solve every conflict with violence!"

"Since when do I do that?"

"Since now, apparently! And what do you mean enough people like me already, like, having some friends makes it perfectly fine to be an asshole towards everyone else?"

"No_,_" he started, stopping when Naruto did, sick of the subject, sick of Hinata, sick of the nausea threatening to invade his throat if his thoughts lingered too closely on the inevitable meeting with Itachi later.

"Then what the hell does it mean, that you're the only one allowed to boss me around?! You like me enough so I don't need other people to?"

The response that had started forming in Sasuke's throat got stuck on the way out, his brain trying to wrap itself around the meaning of Naruto's last words. What even…?

Naruto was scowling at him with defiance, a challenge, and possibly something less self-assured. The air between them seemed to bristle with that last something, confusion hitting Sasuke like a brick wall to the face. He had enough to deal with at the moment without Naruto asking weird things out of the blue. Why were they even talking about this?

Oh, right, he was reminded of the reason when Hinata came charging, spinning violently with her Gentle Fist technique aimed towards him. _Really. _He jumped, avoiding her just in time, an annoyed twitch in his eye as she stood to face him in a battle stance. Sighing, he shifted his feet just enough to be prepared for another attack, but Naruto rushed to stand between them before anything happened.

"Okay, stop that!" he said, turning his head back and forth to make sure they stayed in their places. "Don't fight over stupid things."

Hinata glared past Naruto for a few more seconds, Byakugan focused on Sasuke, but then she thought better of it and relaxed.

"Fine, but this ugly jerk better watch it!" she spat, lifting her chin defiantly, as if to dare Sasuke to quietly accept her words.

"What did you just say?!" Naruto faced Hinata now, taking a step towards her, shoulders tense. "Sasuke is _not_ ugly!"

"He's the ugliest guy _I've_ ever seen!"

"Ugly guys don't have fan clubs!"

"Then I guess he proved you wrong, didn't he!"

They were both yelling in each other's faces, and Sasuke stared at them in dismay. It was, honestly, strange how Hinata seemed to hate him so much. The only logical explanation was that his counterpart had done something to her and now she was confusing them, just like she apparently confused Naruto with Menma.

Naruto was radiating poorly contained anger, and Sasuke was just about to break them apart when a new voice cut through the strained atmosphere.

"Oi oi, what's this, I'm jealous. Your brother is always in the middle of these lover's quarrels, isn't he?"

The voice belonged to a large man, with bluish skin and sharp teeth, whom Sasuke had a vague memory of meeting once during an episode he much preferred to forget. Next to him, however…

"I'm sure he didn't ask for it," Itachi replied, one eyebrow raised in curious amusement as the two of them approached.

Itachi looked… Sasuke had to swallow, inhaling deeply when Itachi stopped a few steps away. His Akatsuki cloak was casually open at the front, revealing the outfit underneath to be dark, standard pants tucked into light grey shin protectors, and a v-necked black shirt over a mesh undershirt. He wore his forehead protector, with a line cut straight over the leaf, his hair tied up like always with a few bangs hanging loose at the front. His necklace also hung around his neck, a thin chain decorated with silver plates shaped into stylized eyes.

He looked the same, too much the same, and Sasuke kept his eyes trained on his chest so he wouldn't have to see his face. He could sense Naruto coming up to stand next to him, close enough for their clothes to brush, and he focused on that feeling rather than the chaos inside his mind.

"It wasn't a lover's quarrel," Naruto disagreed, crossing his arms and most likely grimacing as well.

"Haha, is that so?" the blue man asked, amused.

Kisame, Sasuke remembered his name to be, Itachi's partner in Akatsuki. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck starting to rise in discomfort, and he bit into the inside of his cheek.

"Who would fight over someone like _him_," Hinata added, stepping up next to Naruto. "Now that Itachi's here, he can just hang out with him instead and you can go with me."

The last part was obviously directed at Naruto, who sighed and rubbed his cheek in annoyance. Then he, surprisingly, threw his arm around Sasuke's shoulders, managing to startle him out of his trance.

"Nope, I'm going with Sasuke. So, Itachi, are you busy right now? We've got some stuff to talk about."

Sasuke blinked, glancing towards Naruto's grinning face. This dobe… Sighing through his nose, he shrugged out of Naruto's arm, braving a look at Itachi. His brother had quirked one corner of his lips, a good-natured expression on his otherwise serious face.

"I was wondering when you'd get around to it," he said in his deep voice, Kisame snickering for no apparent reason. "I'll just tell father I'm back, but why don't you continue on home and we'll meet there?"

Naruto nodded, and Sasuke forced down the lump in his throat when Itachi smiled at him before heading towards the building behind them. He was acutely aware of Naruto's presence next to him, his chakra all but vibrating with unease despite the happy front he'd put up. Straightening, he turned in the other direction and started walking at a brisk pace, figuring Naruto would follow and hoping Hinata wouldn't. He stared ahead but saw nothing, his mind filled with unwanted memories. People stepped out of the way as he plowed through them, Naruto apologizing left and right by his side, tugging at his vest a few times to maneuver him around larger obstacles.

Hinata must have given up, because there were no further interruptions as they made their way through the village. He vaguely recognized someone calling his name, but left Naruto to deal with it.

"I think it was one of your relatives," Naruto said as he caught up with him again, "because she gave me some dried plums for you."

Sasuke didn't react, but it's not like he needed to. It was when they reached their destination that it struck him that Naruto could have just teleported them there. If he knew the dobe, there was no way he hadn't already marked his room. He went inside the house, up the stairs, and sat down on his bed. Naruto, like always, had followed him and hovered by the doorway. One look and the other ninja shut the door with a huff, then made himself comfortable in the armchair by one corner, bag of plums dropped to the floor.

His posture was terrible, with one leg draped across the armrest, arms hanging over the sides, lower lip jutting out in an annoyed pout as he glared at the ceiling. Sasuke thought idly of Sakura's comment that he needed to get a haircut, and silently agreed. Running his gaze over Naruto's slouched form was a lot better than dwelling on his brother though, and it wasn't the first time this past year that he'd used him as a distraction. Naruto had skipped his jacket again, wearing a black t-shirt one size too big that he didn't recognize. There was a smudge of dirt on his left knee, but overall his appearance was unusually clean. Often he or Sakura needed to make a pointed reminder that washing machines existed for a reason. One time Naruto had walked around in the same mesh shirt for a week simply to annoy them.

"What," Naruto asked in a flat voice, looking for all Sasuke knew like he was sulking again.

"Nothing," he replied, knowing it would bother the other.

"You were staring at me."

"And?"

Naruto crossed his arms, sinking lower into the cushioned chair and muttering something underneath his breath. Leaning his elbows on his knees, Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him.

"Meeting dead people is weird," Naruto said, changing the subject and causing another wave of emotion that needed to be suppressed.

"You seemed fine," he pointed out, clasping his hands so that they hung in front of his knees, jaw tensing.

"Yeah, sure, so did you. I mean, it's one thing in the middle of a war, but here it's like, they act as if they're part of your life. I got too comfortable last time I was here." He stretched, arms above his head as he slid down to half-lie in the chair. "I don't know, it's just weird."

Sasuke could only stare as Naruto frowned up at the ceiling, squirming around until he found a better position. Then Naruto turned his head, catching Sasuke by surprise with how serious his expression was.

"Your dad will probably tell him what's going on. So, at least you won't be forced to pretend. That's the worst part. It feels good for a while, but then it just sucks."

Blinking slowly, Sasuke heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, elbow digging painfully into his thigh as he leaned on it.

"I'm fine," he insisted, giving blue eyes narrowed in disbelief a tired look. "I don't need your so called advice."

"Then do you need a hug?" Naruto stretched his arms out, and Sasuke twitched.

"Get the fuck out of my room, Naruto."

Grin wide now, Naruto wiggled until he was practically upside down, still stretching his arms out and signing for Sasuke to come over. Gritting his teeth, he got up and stalked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. He wasn't angry, not really, but he didn't like how vulnerable he felt right now, and how easily Naruto saw through him. Besides, Naruto's mood swings were giving him a headache. He might have grown up since the time they were Kakashi's students, but what their sensei had said still seemed to hold true in Sasuke's opinion: Naruto was the number one most surprising ninja.

He leaned against the door, his bones feeling like they were sagging underneath his skin. It didn't take long before he could hear Naruto shuffle over to the door, and open it just a little bit, enough for Sasuke not to fall seeing as he still leaned against it. Turning his head he stared at Naruto, who stared back in silence for a minute or so, fingers tapping hesitantly on the wood as he held it still with his shoulder.

"You're my best friend, Sasuke. You know you can talk to me."

It wasn't the first time Naruto had said it, wasn't the first time Sasuke broke eye contact either, to stare at the opposite wall instead. From below them, he could hear the front door opening, and for a moment his lungs ceased to function.

"I mean it," Naruto said, but Sasuke clenched his fists and pushed himself off the door.

He took a few steps, but paused, waiting for Naruto to follow.

"It's fine," he repeated, frowning when Naruto placed his hand lightly over the small of his back.

The touch only lingered for a second or two, but it was enough in terms of supportive gestures. Not that Sasuke needed one of those.

"Alright then," Naruto replied, his tone light as he walked towards the staircase," I always wanted to properly meet your brother anyway."

* * *

So, yeah, Itachi but not yet talking to him. It'll come in the next chapter. I also have to announce that on Monday, uni starts for me again, and I have a few other things to finish up before that so I really don't know when the next chapter will be out. I didn't mean to leave you with a cliffhanger but I guess this is how it is. We're gonna meet Akatsuki pretty soon though, so if anyone has any requests for a character you'd like to see some extra of, don't hesitate to tell me.

Also, I really hope this chapter wasn't too much all over the place, it's not beta'ed or anything so please tell me what you think.


	9. Support needed

Yay, I managed to write a lot this weekend! You should check my tumblr for the rest if you haven't already. I'm also halfway done with part 2 of the "Fantasy" drabble... it's going to be yummy.

Also, I forgot to mention last chapter, but I wrote a spin-off drabble for this story, so everyone that haven't read it and can't wait for some nice smut with these two, go read it! You can find it under "My stories" and then "Drabbles".

I'm fully aware that Naruto is acting pretty depressing lately, well, he's just so worried about Sasuke. We'll be getting more on that later. And if anyone wonders from last chapter, Itachi has that cut through his forehead protector because that's how it was in the movie. I made up my own explanation, though. Sorry that this chapter is a bit short though, I've got exams next week and shouldn't have written at all really, but of course that's when inspiration strikes. I hope it won't take more than two weeks for the next chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Support needed**

xxx

Facing Itachi the second time was somehow easier than the first. Not more pleasant, but yes, easier. Maybe because he now knew their true identity, and apologized for not having realized it before. Sasuke couldn't help but think that _his _Itachi would have noticed before they even opened their mouths to speak. They sat on the porch, drinking some homemade juice that Itachi had found in the fridge, and Sasuke stayed silent while Naruto explained how they'd ended up in their predicament. Kisame kept giving him amused looks, especially every time Naruto had turned to him for confirmation. Itachi listened with a serious expression on his face, not bothered when Naruto wouldn't answer some of his questions.

"This is certainly intriguing," Itachi concluded, leaning back on one hand and placing his empty glass beside him. "We didn't receive much of an explanation last time, but I had my guesses."

"Yeah," Kisame agreed, "I thought Itachi was cracking up when he said the fight had been between Menma and some alternate version of him."

"Hmm, well, I don't know if Obito can help you, but I can help you find him."

"That's great, thanks," Naruto said, looking relieved. "We're kind of causing trouble for everyone now."

Kisame let out a bark of laughter, the large sword on his back squirming when his shoulders shook slightly. "Trouble is what we live for," he said, patting Naruto's head and grinning at the indignant look it earned him.

"Well I prefer the opposite," Naruto retorted with a huff, crossing his arms, and Sasuke couldn't help but make a small disagreeing noise. "What, it's true! I just keep getting dragged into it, 's not my fault…"

"I'm sure," Itachi smoothly agreed, but a glance told Sasuke he seemed amused as well.

For some reason, the whole situation didn't sit well with him. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but definitely surreal. There was just something about the casual way Itachi lounged against the wall, the cloak left inside neatly folded on a chair but his forehead protector still in place.

"Why do you have that line through the leaf symbol?" he asked, everyone pausing to look at him curiously.

He hadn't meant to ask, but it bugged him. If this Itachi hadn't betrayed the village, what was the point of cutting through the village's symbol? Kisame's forehead protector had a similar line, but neither of them seemed bothered by the question.

"It simply means that as members of Akatsuki, we still belong to our respective villages but don't take orders from them. We're a separate entity, neutral towards the villages."

Sasuke nodded slowly, narrowing his eyes for a second before averting them. He decided not to ask anything else, even though he'd like to know. There were so many differences between this world and his own, and underneath the unease he felt curiosity bubbling. If he could, he would like to question Itachi in private. He was just torn between wanting to know, and dreading having to tell him why he wanted to know. Thinking of the past had never gotten him anywhere good, and while he still had trouble shaking it off he at least tried to ignore it nowadays. It made life simpler to live, if anything.

"That's right," Naruto said, changing the subject, "I never thanked you for the help properly last time."

"That's fine," Itachi waved him off, and Kisame shrugged at him.

"We got paid, so no problem."

"Okay…" Naruto looked a little doubtful, flicking his eyes between the two older men.

Maybe Naruto, too, was feeling a little awkward in their presence. He hadn't acted strangely, but he wasn't entirely relaxed either. It could be like he'd said earlier, about meeting dead people feeling weird. Instantly, visions of Itachi's last moments flashed before Sasuke's eyes, and he was forced to take a deep breath to steady himself. The memories didn't hurt as much anymore, but that didn't mean he enjoyed them.

Things were quiet for a minute, and Sasuke chose to stare up at the sky where clouds were now gathering. The weather was still warm, but he preferred to keep the chuunin vest on as often as he could ever since he'd received it. It served as a good reminder for where his loyalties now stood, and some days Sasuke needed that reminder. Right now, however, it reminded him of how things should have been instead. Like here. Things should have been like they were here.

There were sounds from the front of the house, and Itachi smiled again.

"It seems like mother is already here," he said, getting up on his feet. "I promised we'd help her with dinner."

"Uuh, I'm not very good at cooking…" Naruto mumbled, making a grimace but standing as well.

Kisame burst out laughing again, shaking his head and cracking his neck slightly once he'd stopped.

"I wouldn't mess with Mikoto's cooking if I were you," he advised, heading inside without waiting for them to follow.

"Don't worry, Naruto. She'll find something for you to do."

Naruto nodded at Itachi, but hesitated with a glance towards Sasuke.

"I promised to fix some things in the garden, I'll come inside later," he lied, wanting a few minutes to himself.

No one disagreed with him, even though Naruto looked like he wanted to. Turning his face away again, he waited for them to walk inside before getting up. Walking across the grass he headed for a small artificial spring, the spot rather secluded but in view of the porch. There was a pond in front of it, and he sat on his haunches to stare down at the few koi fish swimming lazily in the water. They varied in color, spotted with red and orange and black, and he thought it must be nice to be a fish. No need for thinking, and no blond ninja coming back to hover in the doorway leading to the porch to spy on him.

He put one finger into the cool water, startling one of the fish close to it. He wished Naruto would either join him or stop staring. It seemed as if no matter what he did, Naruto was never far away, never losing sight of him if he could help it. He supposed he'd brought it upon himself. At moments like these, it didn't feel annoying, but rather like he had a well-meaning babysitter with a knack for worrying too much. If Sasuke didn't want to socialize with this world's Itachi, he would have said so. When Itachi's presence joined Naruto's on the porch, he turned to roll his eyes at Naruto's reluctance to let him pass.

Sure, his lungs felt like someone gripped them tightly as Itachi neared him, and he focused unseeingly on the artfully placed stones in the middle of the pond surrounding the fountain. It still didn't mean that Naruto helped him by telling Itachi not to talk to him. His supposed brother paused next to him after brushing Naruto off, then sat down with crossed legs to calmly observe his face. Neither of them appeared eager to speak, and Sasuke stubbornly refused to start.

"I got the feeling that your question wasn't so much about what this line means," Itachi finally said, pointing at his forehead, "as it was about why I have it at all. Am I correct?"

Sasuke said nothing.

"When I saw you before, I was surprised that my brother was dressed in his chuunin vest. He hates it, as far as I know, and I thought that perhaps father had told him off for not taking his job seriously. The two of you seem very different in that aspect."

Again, Sasuke didn't answer. He wasn't sure what he could say, without revealing too much.

"Judging by your reaction towards me, I'd say that my counterpart is either someone you have a bad relationship with, or he's dead."

This time, Sasuke looked up with a sharp frown, not happy with how much Itachi was guessing already.

"The less you ask, the better," he said, taking care to keep his voice devoid of emotion.

"Better for whom?"

Sasuke clenched his teeth, but gave in and sat down to face Itachi.

"For everyone. For me. We're not here to swap stories."

"I thought you didn't know why you were here?" Itachi didn't seem worried, in fact, he looked far too understanding as he held Sasuke's gaze in his. "If it makes any difference, feel free to ask anything you wish about me."

"Do you tell him everything?" The question left his mouth before his brain had time to stop it.

"You mean Sasuke?" When he nodded, Itachi gave him a thoughtful look. "I tell him what he has business knowing."

Lips thinning into a tight line, Sasuke broke eye contact. This Itachi was eerily similar to his, if you disregarded the apparent difference in strength, and his mind was starting to mix the two up. When two gentle fingers against his chin tilted his head back towards Itachi, he looked to him in surprise.

"I can't guess what happened to you, Sasuke, but your eyes resemble mine more than my brother's. You've been through a lot."

Oh, if he only knew the irony of that statement… Sasuke sighed through his nose, convincing himself that the simple touch wasn't something he had missed in too many lonely moments.

"Yes," he admitted, letting his defenses relax for a second. "I am nothing like your brother, I think."

Itachi smiled then, moving his fingers to poke between his brows, effectively causing Sasuke's eyes to widen.

"Perhaps not, but I am like yours it seems, and I don't want things to be awkward between us. So please rely on me, even if it's just a little."

xxx

_Okay, Kurama, we're having an emergency meeting right now. _

Barely a second after throwing the thought out inside his mind, Naruto was staring up at the large fox inhabiting his body. Kurama was lying down, paws crossed and head resting on top of them, an unimpressed look in his eyes.

"What's the emergency, you've been here for days already."

"Yeah, but it's about Sasuke! He-"

"Not again," Kurama groaned, flicking his ears irritably. "He's all you think about, how much fun do you think that is for me, huh?"

"What!" Naruto spluttered, feeling his cheeks heat up as he scowled at the fox. "Are you listening to my thoughts or something?!"

Kurama let out a mixture of a snort and a sigh, and he would have probably rolled his eyes too if he hadn't closed them instead.

"No, that'd be pretty gross. But you seriously worry too much."

Naruto crossed his arms, fists clenched as he bit his lips instead of retort immediately. Sure, Kurama was a good friend, but he didn't think he'd take well to hear some of the things Naruto wanted to call him right now. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't have cared, but he was stuck in this alternate world, and Kurama was the only one besides Sasuke he could speak to freely. And Sasuke wasn't talking, so…

"It's just, I don't know what to do. Sasuke being here is just bad on so many levels. And he obviously wasn't too happy meeting Itachi… I hate seeing him like this."

Kurama opened one eye, staring in silence at his dejected face for a few seconds. A few of his tails swished behind him, settling into a more comfortable position.

"I still think you worry too much."

"Yeah, well, you already said that," Naruto replied, voice testy, and he promptly sat down in front of the cage.

"Because you needed to hear it again. Brat."

Letting out a frustrated groan, Naruto rubbed his palms over his eyes, feeling tired suddenly. He'd gone home after dinner, but it felt as if his mind had stayed with Sasuke in his room. What was he doing? Was he thinking of Itachi, was he hurting? And what exactly had Itachi said that caused Sasuke to all but forget how to speak throughout the rest of the evening? Naruto had no idea, all he knew was that his whole body felt like it was prickling with unease.

"I just want him to be okay," he whispered, mostly to himself, but Kurama of course heard him.

"You're talking about the guy who managed to kill his brother and live with it, I doubt seeing a copy of the same brother will cause some sort of breakdown."

Naruto inhaled sharply, and it felt like his lungs were stung by Kurama's words. He couldn't think of anything to say to that, because he didn't want to admit the first part. Not that Sasuke had lived happily or anything, but he still hadn't returned to Konoha afterwards… He gritted his teeth, pushing away all thoughts of the past. He might have been too late a few times, but Sasuke was back and he refused to admit that he was scared of losing him still. Even so, his throat hurt at the thought, and he bent his knees and hugged them to his chest.

"I don't like it," he mumbled, "I don't like Sasuke being here."

"Well, I don't like the Uchiha brat at all, and never did, so…" Kurama hesitated, and Naruto could feel his gaze on him, and hear the click of his tongue when Naruto let his forehead connect with his knees. "Sheesh, you're looking like it's the end of the world. What happened to that never ending spirit of yours?"

Naruto didn't know. He just felt… empty. His mind had been whirring with thoughts and worries ever since they got here, and it didn't help that they had no clue as to why. He'd felt great because Sasuke had finally agreed to stay, officially, even if he hadn't been very enthusiastic about it. To Naruto, that was the final piece of the puzzle he'd needed. And then, just a few hours later, everything had changed. At least it _felt_ like things had changed, gradually, sneaking up on him and only becoming all too obvious by the arrival of Itachi. The way Sasuke had said it that morning in his kitchen, it sounded like he was only staying because he had nowhere else to go.

And now? Naruto dug his fingers into his pant legs, frowning. He had never backed down from his resolve to bring Sasuke home with him, and why should that part change now? If they could get home at all…

"Relax, kid. After all the trouble you went through, I doubt he'd forget about you just like that. Take it from someone who's lived through every friendship speech you ever made."

"Easy for you to say," he muttered, tilting his head and glaring at nothing in particular.

"You'll be home in no time, stop moping around, it's creepy."

Naruto only made a disagreeing noise, narrowing his eyes. Part of him fervently wished Kurama was right, and they really would go home soon. Another other part was more skeptical, but worst of all was the part that-

A knock on his door snatched him out of his inner turmoil, and back to the outer world.

"Come in," he called, Kushina opening the door a second later.

"Hey sweetie, I remembered we've got some leftovers if you want to bring on your trip tomorrow?"

"Oh, no, that's fine. Itachi said we'll eat when we get there."

"Mm, okay." Kushina then narrowed her eyes at him, stepping fully inside to close the door behind her. "I was going to say it's exciting you'll get to meet Akatsuki, but you don't seem very cheerful."

"No, that's…" He hesitated, grimacing and running a hand through his unruly hair. "I mean, meeting them will be fun, I guess. Hopefully we can meet Obito, though."

She sat down next to him, lips pursed in thought, her red hair framing her face nicely. Then she smiled, taking a reassuring hold of his shoulder.

"It'll be fine, I'm sure. You don't need to hurry back for my sake, but I understand that everyone must be worried about you."

"Yeah…" Honestly, Naruto hadn't put much thought into it. He was more concerned with Sasuke at the moment, and while he felt bad for skipping out on his duties, he knew that there were several competent ninjas that could cover for him. A while, at least. He didn't like worrying people, but he'd heard many times that he tended to get stuck on his thoughts of Sasuke and forget everything else, and he supposed it was true. Even Kurama had noticed, obviously. "I feel bad for disappearing without anyone knowing where we went."

"Well, at least you've got Sasuke with you, right? I'm sure they're not as worried knowing that."

Naruto felt like laughing, but it would have probably come out sounding bitter. Despite his efforts, there were still many who doubted Sasuke, and he couldn't exactly blame them. The guy had a thing for changing his mind, after all. Though, the cold greeting back into the village that Sasuke had received at least served to calm him down a little, and rethink his possibilities of becoming Hokage. Not that Naruto would mind if Sasuke became Hokage as well, but…

"It's going to be so interesting when Menma comes back with our Sasuke," Kushina continued. "I'm sure they'll be surprised! Maybe now Sasuke will wake up and start acting a little more his age."

The last part was said with an almost pout, and Naruto felt his mouth twitch in amusement at the thought. He just hoped the wake-up call wouldn't be bloody, and that he wasn't the one who had to clean up the mess afterwards.

* * *

I have to confess I'd almost forgotten about Kurama. Good thing the latest manga chapter reminded me. It's going to be rather difficult to adjust this story to canon all the time, so some of it won't be added for obvious reasons. But yeah, Sasuke needs to be slapped around a little. Then I want him and Naruto crying in the rain before making out. That should do for an ending.

Anyway, next chapter we'll get more Itachi and also Akatsuki!


End file.
